Otherworld I: The Door
by DragonDancer5150
Summary: w/ 'Lunnaei'. At last, the Puzzle spirit learns the truth of his identity and the reason for his imprisonment...& that's just the beginning. Now the race is on to destroy the evil he couldn't stop the first time. Xover w Lunnaei's OC world. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1 Behind Amethyst Eyes

Author's Note: December 12, 2007 – THANK YOU SO, SOOO MUCH to PharaonicWolf and MyAibou, my beta's. MA's work, especially, has been insightful, to an extent that I've spent a lot of time reworking this whole thing. Chapters are shorter, which also means there's more _of_ them before getting back to new material, so reviews dated before this date are "off" in the chapters referenced. Chapter 1 is now Chapter 1 & 2. What _was_ Chp 2 is now Chp's 3 & 4. Chp 3 is Chp's 5, 6, & 7. Original Chp 4 is now Chp's 8, 9, 10 & 11. Chp 12 starts all new material. THANKS SO MUCH to all who are reading!

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 1 – Behind Amethyst Eyes

Yugi sat gazing at the solid gold box on the desk before him, tracing the hieroglyphs across the front. He knew its every line and curve, had memorized its every inch some ten years ago when he first found it collecting dust on a back shelf of his grandfather's game shop one day where he had been playing as a child. Until two years ago, it held a puzzle no one had ever solved, including him. Then, one day, he did manage to solve it, changing his life forever. The result of eight years of diligence now hung on a thick, sturdy chain around his neck – an inverted pyramid known as the Millennium Puzzle. The Puzzle itself held great power and many secrets, not to mention its raw monetary value due to the solid gold that comprised it, as well as its great age and history, but what made it a dearly-loved treasure to Yugi was none of these. The Puzzle was also the home of a possessing entity, an amnesic spirit who had been trapped within, awakened with its solving. In fact, it had only been in very recent months that Yugi and his friends – and the spirit himself, for that matter – had begun to realize that the spirit was not just a facet of Yugi's own personality, developed out of the Puzzle's energies, but a separate individual in and of himself. Still, with no memories of his own, the spirit had no name of his own. To this day, Yugi thought of him as "Other Me" or "My Other Self" and the others called him the "Other Yugi."

They had recently learned that the spirit had once been an Egyptian pharaoh and that he had lived about 3,000 years ago. They had also learned that the spirit's memories had specifically been stolen, sealed from him for a reason none could fathom.

_Within this box lay the keys to unlocking that seal_. Yugi let his mind turn that thought over and over in its mental hands, exploring the implications. _The God cards are in this box, the three God cards that Other Me fought hard to win in Battle City. They're a piece of the puzzle in the search for his memories. _ After school, Yugi would be going to the museum with Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, and Bakura to see a stone slab on display from an ancient Egyptian temple. _ I haven't seen it, _he mused,_ but Anzu said there's an image of a pharaoh carved on it that looks like Other Me. Apparently that stone slab means a lot to his lost memories. The three God cards, this mysterious slab . . . _His fists clenched in determination. _I promise you, My Other Self, you'll find your memories soon!_ The spirit did not react outwardly but Yugi knew that, deep within the room of his soul, within the Puzzle, the spirit knew well his conviction.

His mind turned to the conversation with his grandfather only moments ago. Even though it was well past midnight, Grandpa had wandered into Yugi's bedroom. Yugi knew that his mother would have been on both their cases if she had known that they were still up – or at least on his case, seeing as how it was a school night. Grandpa had begged to see the exceptional cards "just one more time" – he had already ogled them at least a dozen times by then – and they wound up in an argument over whether or not Yugi should allow him to display them in the shop as the ultimate in collector's items. Grandpa had pushed to the point that Yugi finally lost his temper, if only for that brief instant – "_I said NO!_" As Grandpa relented at last, he explained, "You don't know how hard it was, Grandpa. You don't know the _life-and-death_ duels that Other Me had to go through in Battle City to win the God cards!" _Not to mention everyone else's sufferings – Bakura, Mai, Jonouchi . . . Rishid . . . Malik . ._ .

"Hm?" Grandpa had interjected. "_O__ther_ you?"

"Urk!" Yugi had gasped. "D-did I say 'other me'? I meant . . . uh, 'it bothered me'." _Ut-oh . . . Grandpa hasn't met Other Me . ._ . . Well, there was that time, almost a year ago, when Grandpa had spoken to both him and the other him from time to time during the Duelist Kingdom tournament. Then again, it had been from within a videotape in which his soul had been trapped – so maybe he did not remember . . . .

"Yugi." Something in the tone snapped Yugi's attention back to the present with a twinge of foreboding. Still, he was completely unprepared for his grandfather's next words. "You're talking about the pharaoh's soul, aren't you?"

Yugi nearly fell out of his chair. "_WHAT?_ Grandpa, how did you . . . ?"

Suddenly gone were the light-heartedness and the half-joking greed over the cards. Mutou Sugoroku regarded his grandson in silence for the span of several heartbeats, and Yugi could see the memories and deep thoughts playing behind amethyst eyes as rich as his own. At length, he laid a gnarled hand on his grandson's shoulder. "All I know is . . . the one who solves the Millennium Puzzle inherits the _will of the Pharaoh_, and that person will be endlessly tested. Yugi, that is the _fate_ of the chosen one."

_Grandpa . . ._ . For a long moment, grandfather and grandson gazed at one another, and Yugi could almost hear his grandfather's thoughts, in truth or imagined – _No matter what, you mustn't give up!_ Finally, he nodded in all confidence. After all, he was not alone in facing whatever fate had in store for him. "I know."

With that, the moment passed, the dark seriousness broken. "Oh, ho!" Grandpa laughed, ruffling his grandson's thick hair affectionately. "Well, time for bed. Good night, Yugi!"

"Good night, Grandpa!"

"Say . . . Yugi?" Sugoroku hesitated at the door. "What time are you and your friends going to the museum tomorrow?"

"Hm? Ah, well, we're heading over right after school. By bus, we should get there, um . . . " Yugi's voice trailed off as he tried to recall the exact times of the bus schedule to Domino City Museum.

"Would you mind if an old man tags along? Or would you and your friends rather not be hanging out with your grandpa?" he teased with a wink.

"Oh! No, of course not! Er, w-we wouldn't mind, I mean."

Sugoroku nodded. "I'll close up shop early and meet you there, then. Be sure to get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a very important day." With that, he closed the door behind him.

Yugi gazed at the door now as he had a few minutes ago when Grandpa had left, then returned his attention to the box. _I . . . I wonder just how much Grandpa does know about what's going on. He's the one who found the Puzzle to begin with, navigating the traps in the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh some thirty years ago when he was a world-wide traveler and gambler, before meeting Grandma and settling down to open the Kame Game Shop_.

_"That is the fate of the chosen one." Why did Grandpa say that?_ He recalled similar words from the dark spirit that had, until this past weekend, inhabited the Millennium Ring. _"To awaken the pharaoh's memories is the duty of the one chosen by the puzzle." How could he have known? How much _did_ he know about all that?_ Thankfully, Yugi thought, there was no asking _him_ anymore. The mysterious spirit of the Ring had apparently perished when Bakura Ryou, his host and Yugi's friend, had suffered his soul being separated from his body as penalty of a lost Shadow Game inflicted during the terrible Battle City Finals. Yugi and his other self had managed to win Bakura's soul back along with many other victories by the time those horrible duels were over with for good. With the end of the finals, too, Yugi had found himself in possession of four of the seven Millennium Items, including the Ring. His other self had already checked it out to the best of his ability, thoroughly exploring its energies with all of the Shadow power ability at his disposal, and the sadistic, self-serving possessing entity was nowhere to be found.

Yugi let out a deep sigh and shook his head, feeling the lateness of the hour aching in his limbs. Without taking the Puzzle from his neck, he clicked off his light and climbed into bed. Morning would come soon enough.

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

The spirit waited until he believed Yugi to be asleep before manifesting himself. He sat at the desk where his _aibou_ had been only a half-hour prior, himself gazing at the fateful box for a long moment. Out of ornery whim, he reached out to touch its golden lid, even though he knew before it happened that his ephemeral hand would simply pass right through. He turned his eyes to gaze out the window in the steeply slanted roof-wall. Had it only been three nights since last he had sat like this? He heaved a deep sigh, his mind wandering over all that had happened in the interim.

For one, he recalled Yugi going into Bakura's room on Kaiba's ship, where their friend lay in a coma. Yugi did not know what had happened, and the spirit manifested himself by Yugi's side to explain that the dark spirit of Bakura's Millennium Ring had lost a Shadow Game to Malik, who at the time was still bent on mistakenly-targeted revenge. Bakura's soul could not return unless the man who established the Dark Game was defeated. The same held true for Mai's soul . . . and no one was quite sure what had befallen Rishid. The whole situation was resolved at long last – Malik realized his mistake at the very end and fought to right all the wrong he had done – but not before a great deal of damage had been wrought. The spirit thought about his _aibou's_ deep sorrow as Yugi commented from the side of Bakura's bed that there had been too many sacrifices in this tournament. The spirit remembered his own grief as he had apologized – and not for the first time – saying that he was to blame, that Malik was doing it all out of hatred for the Pharaoh he had been condemned to "protect" and whom, Malik thought, had betrayed him. The spirit would never forget the look in the young man's eyes as Yugi had earnestly protested that this was _not_ the spirit's fault, that he could not be blamed for things he could not remember. Did he not try to protect everyone? He encouraged the spirit to continue the battle, believing that it was still possible to save everyone. The spirit had agreed, saying that a True Duelist would not quit in the middle of the fight.

Then, Jonouchi had fallen.

That had to have been the most savage blow to both their hearts – the spirit _and_ his living partner. Jonouchi was Yugi's closest friend of all those that he had. As a brother, Yugi loved him dearly. The spirit closed his eyes in pain at the memory of standing materially by Jonouchi's bed as Yugi, himself in spirit form, cried his best friend's name over and over again, begging him not to die. That had been too much for the spirit's wounded heart, and he withdrew into the hallway, followed only by Yugi, still sobbing bitterly. "Jonouchi-kun, if you die, I . . . "

At those words, the spirit responded in his own anguish by switching off his Duel Disk. "I can't fight anymore." He did not have to look to know that his _aibou's_ eyes were on him at that, full of concern. He recalled the promise he had made to Jonouchi to play him when Jonouchi had finally become a True Duelist. To carry out that promise should have been his goal in Battle City. "Finding my memory, the God cards . . . it's all nothing compared to a promise to a friend. _Did I sacrifice Jonouchi for _that_?_" He felt Yugi's ethereal hand on his arm, but he could not bring himself to acknowledge it. "All I have left is my hatred for Malik," he muttered, then punched the wall in sudden fury, vehemently demanding, "but after that_, __what do I have left!_" Yugi had not had an answer for him, but the Millennium Necklace in his pocket, which Ishizu had given him after losing to Kaiba in the semi-finals, did.

Alongside an unexpected visit by Jonouchi's soul, the spirit was given a vision of the future wherein he and Jonouchi did indeed have their promised duel, that Jonouchi was going to be all right. Deciding to trust in the reality of that future, the spirit had gone ahead and finished what he had started. Thanks be to the ancient gods, fate, or whatever it was out there in charge – everyone had been saved in the end, even Malik himself.

The spirit's eyes wandered from the box on the desk to the knapsack on the bottom shelf of the bookcase to his right, within which rested the other three Millennium Items in his and Yugi's possession. So much suffering – he could not help but wonder . . . was it all worth it? And what lay ahead for him? What was his fate now?

"Nakama . . . "

Yugi's voice was so soft that, for a moment, the spirit could not tell if he had honestly heard it or merely imagined it. Hearing the nickname his closest friend used in private, he looked over to see Yugi sitting up in bed, regarding him with those large expressive eyes he had come to cherish so deeply. He had already caused the innocent young man such pain . . . -_I'm sorry. Did I wake you?_- As a ghost, his words were not so much heard by human ears as felt in his partner's mind.

Yugi shook his head. "No. I couldn't sleep, either. After all, tomorrow we might get your memories back! You've been wanting them for _so long! _I'm too excited to sleep!"

_Such incredible selflessness . ._ . The spirit looked away briefly to gaze out the window, unable to meet those bright, generous eyes. It was a long moment before he could speak. -_Aibou_,- he started hesitantly, -_I know that who I really am . . . is the soul of the pharaoh sealed in the Millennium Puzzle. I met you when you became my aibou, my partner in the search for my memories. Then I met Jonouchi and Anzu, Honda, and lots of other friends . . . _-

"Yup."

-_Now I have _new_ memories, the memories of being with my friends. No matter what happens to me, those memories will _always_ be there._- That was one thing that bothered him deeply, that he would lose his present self in regaining his past. Speaking the words aloud, however, helped him to start believing them as he had not been able to yet. He turned to meet Yugi's gaze then. -_To me, the memories of my friends are an _eternal _treasure__._- He could not emphasize that enough.

He watched Yugi absorb his words, mulling some of his own thoughts behind amethyst eyes. Yugi's hand found the Puzzle sitting in his lap, and he cupped it up in his palm before raising his gaze once again to the spirit's. "Nakama, this is just like when I put the Millennium Puzzle together. This time it's _your_ turn to put the pieces of your memory back together. As long as you need me, I'll _always_ be your partner!"

-_Aibou . . ._ - No words could begin to express the spirit's gratitude. It was Yugi's boundless hope, courage and conviction that had always given the spirit the strength to face any challenge set before him – and now more so than ever. With a big, genuine smile on his face, the spirit nodded. -_YES!_-

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!

_**Aibou**_ – "Partner" or "Pal." Yami's nickname for Yugi, born both of fondness and respect (per canon).

_**Nakama**_ – "Buddy." If only for my own sake, this is a nickname Yugi has given Yami (not canon :grin:). His full (canon) name for Yami is "Mou Hitori no Boku" – "the Other Me" or "My Other Self" . . . but also, it just seems to me that Yugi would respond to _having_ a nickname by _giving_ one in return, something personal just between the two of them. And according to , for one, an expansion of the _connotative_ meaning of the word is (paraphrased) someone who is as close as blood family, especially if the other character has no apparent relatives of their own. Which Yami doesn't . . . so Yugi's claiming him as such, in a sense. XD


	2. Chapter 2 Miracles

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 2 – Miracles

The night was sleepless for one other as well. Having abandoned the attempt hours before, Kaiba sat up in his study, a luxurious robe pulled around his lithe, sturdy frame. On the small table next to his armchair rested his open briefcase with his entire card collection inside, his primary deck fitted into a special pocket under the lid next to the communication device. In his hands rested three cards, the triplet copies of his beloved Blue-Eyes White Dragon – _the honest servant who holds my pride and my soul_. He had not moved for nearly an hour, his mind as full as his heart was empty. So much had happened in the past few days.

Kaiba had witnessed miracles. That was, in the end, the only way he could think of them. He had spent the past twenty-four hours and more, since the destruction of the Duel Tower on the ruins of Alcatraz, trying to explain, to rationalize – to reject – the incredible powers he had experienced . . . but he could not.

The first revelation had been in the power of cooperation when he was forced to fight by his rival's side in a two-on-two duel. _What is power?_ he had asked himself as Yugi, "another Yugi," pulled the impossible more than once but only when Kaiba worked with him instead of independently. _Power is the thing that I live on. On the field, you don't have partners. Other players are your enemies. Power is used to defeat the enemy and for protecting your reign. Power is to use for yourself. The power of cooperation . . . can this power overtake what I believe in?_ He could not deny that it was that power of cooperation, and that alone, which had allowed the two of them to win that duel – and win it together.

On the helicopter from that to where they had learned Yugi's friends were being held, Kaiba had been served with another revelation, that there were two souls in the body of his rival. He had long known that Yugi behaved as a different person when he dueled but had always believed it to be the confidence of one who was "in his element," so to speak. He knew that Yugi's whole mannerism and speech pattern pointed at some kind of personality disorder. In that conversation, the one sitting by his side in Yugi's body spoke of being a pharaoh's soul awakened when the golden puzzle Yugi always wore had been solved. It sounded insane, and he had asserted as much, but he could not deny the sensation of truth that jabbed at his heart from those words. There had always been something about that puzzle, a sense of familiarity, that nagged at the back of his mind when he did not consciously put forth the effort to ignore it, and that nagging twinge of familiarity had gotten even harder to ignore after the first set of visions thrust upon him by that woman Ishizu.

It was strange, that. In those visions, he had seen himself as a sorcerer of great power, as well as a priest of the pharaoh. Ishizu had seemed to believe that he was opposing the pharaoh but, while the pharaoh was indeed present, it felt to him more like a practice duel, that he was demonstrating his power but not in opposition to the throne. If anything, he remembered feeling in his heart pride in himself for being worthy and capable of fulfilling his station for his pharaoh . . . his friend.

Kaiba shook his head at that. _Ridiculous!_ he growled to himself for the umpteenth time. And yet, the more he fought the concept of the reality of it all, the more his heart knew it to be true. _Friends . . . the power of friendship . ._ . Yugi – both Yugis – had shown him that, too, in the duel against the mind-controlled Jonouchi.

As the helicopter had arrived at the dock where Kaiba Corp.'s satellite system had pinpointed Jonouchi's Duel Disk, Kaiba challenged the other Yugi, the so-called pharaoh, in his conviction on friendship in facing the one whom they both knew had been brainwashed against him. "You let me see the power of cooperation in our duel with the Rare Hunters, but it turns out you have to fight to the bitter end with Jonouchi. Will you have the power of cooperation between you then? Answer me, Yugi." The other had grimaced but said nothing.

Then, Yugi found himself accepting an extraordinarily lethal duel with Jonouchi, who was indeed completely in Malik's power. As he looked on with more than a little true concern, Kaiba remembered thinking that friendship and cooperation would not work for Yugi this time. This duel would be his biggest test. "What will you do, Yugi? Let me see your answer." He had found himself caught up more deeply than he would have liked to admit, horrified when he realized that this Malik person intended, not just to defeat Yugi in a game, but truly to _kill_ him. Silently, he urged his rival, "Yugi, you have to hang on, in this stupid duel that has no self-respect." Then, in spite of everything, both Yugis _did_ show him the answer. He had recognized the exact moment when the original Yugi, the once-cowardly recluse Kaiba remembered from school (back when he bothered to attend at all), had stepped forth in courage to finish what the supposed pharaoh had started. After all, Jonouchi was the original Yugi's friend first and foremost.

Kaiba could only stand by watching in frustration, unable to stop this farce of a duel because of the hostage position in which Malik had placed Anzu. Then, her keeper made a mistake, allowing Kaiba to attack, in concert with one of his auto-pilot helicopters for which he had been anxiously waiting, to remove the several-ton threat hung over Anzu's head. She was promptly freed – but that did nothing to remove the lethal threat hanging over Yugi and Jonouchi.

Then, the original Yugi did something Kaiba had never thought he would see in another human – Yugi nearly gave his life for the one he loved as a brother. He had been fully and peacefully prepared to do so too, vindicated by the freeing of Jonouchi's mind that they had together finally accomplished. Yugi would not let his friend die, so he chose himself instead. With the timer on an explosive running down its last seconds and the final attack by mind-controlled Jonouchi temporarily held at bay by a trap card, original Yugi took the fleeting opportunity to finish their last conversation. "Because of you, I'm not alone anymore," Yugi called across the field, smiling even as tears streamed down his face. "You give me courage. You're my most important friend. Jonouchi, I love you."

Kaiba could not deny the silent, heartsick cry in his own soul that had echoed the audible screams of Yugi's friends as the explosive released the enormous anchor that took Yugi under, plunging into the deep, frigid waters of Domino Harbor. Then, Jonouchi was diving in after him, managing to grab the key to Yugi's shackle . . . while ignoring his own. In his single-minded concern for his best friend, his own safety was nothing. Yugi was saved, but now it was Jonouchi who would be lost – but then another dove to _his_ rescue as he had gone to Yugi's. Jonouchi's sister, Shizuka, took the key and saved her brother, pulling him to the surface.

It was one of the most incredible sequences of actions Kaiba had ever witnessed. He did not know what to make of it so, as he did with so many things, he decided to make nothing of it. However, as he turned to leave, Yugi had called after him. He had paused, then spoke over his shoulder. "Tell the other Yugi that I saw his answer. I'll wait for you at the finals."

He had waited, but he had not been truly prepared for anything that took place. His intention had been to use the Battle City tournament to lay his past to rest once and for all. He had faced the other Yugi in the finals. As the present Kaiba gazed with weary eyes at the dragons in his hand, he recalled his words to Yugi in those last moments of their fateful duel, the one that had been destined from the beginning. "I am going to beat you and take your God card, but not for revenge. Why do I insist on fighting with you? Now I have the answer. Yugi, you are fighting for your lost memory. That's meaningless. For me, the past is past. Mokuba and I were abandoned to a cold orphanage by our wider family when our parents died. Then, we were adopted by Gozaburo and lived an ugly life. My past is full of hatred and anger. I am different from you. I'm only interested in the future. The past for me is a target to be smashed. Yugi, you represent the past. After I smash your illusion and become the Duel King, then my future begins."

_And all the while, I never saw the pain in Mokuba's eyes_.

Kaiba drew a deep, shuddering sigh and reached for the wineglass sitting next to his case. That future had not come to pass. He could not see it then but now, in the quiet, he wondered if perhaps that had been for the best after all. He recalled the other Yugi's words in response – "You won't be able to beat me with hatred and anger. You should not seek to destroy the past. It is what makes us who we are today. Kaiba, you must remember what happened before so that you can learn from it. It's our history that shapes our future. If you stand at the top filled with hatred, you won't find real victory. You'll only have to find new hatred, and your future will be filled with endless hatred." Kaiba recalled answering that it was his inner rage that pushed him forward, and it was what he would use to crush Yugi. "Then go ahead and direct all of your hatred towards me, and strike me down with your rage!" Kaiba had done just that –

And lost.

The other Yugi had approached him in his stunned silence at the end of the duel – the destined duel that he had lost – and his voice was soft. Kaiba had mistaken it for pity at the time but he could not deny the truth of the words, even if he did not like them. "Kaiba, our power is equal. Your strength as a duelist is without question, but what defeated you was the monster in your heart called 'Hatred'. In a duel, the enemy is not only the monsters in the cards, but the anger, hatred, and desire in one's own heart. When all of these enemies are defeated, the road to becoming a True Duelist will open up." Yugi had then held up the card by which he had secured the win at last: Jonouchi's Red-Eyes Black Dragon. "Jonouchi has been fighting continually toward that road. Had I not had this card in my hand, I would have lost. It was the strength of that friendship, and the card my friend entrusted to me, that allowed me to win." Kaiba had snarled that the strength of friendship meant nothing to him. One could only gain victory by his own strength. Kaiba Seto would never need a friend's strength! Yugi had not answered right away, only gazed back at him with those fierce amethyst eyes he had come to know so well, but somehow Kaiba thought he knew what he was thinking. Neither of them _needed_ the other, but neither of them would have gotten where they were without the other. It was their rivalry that had forced each of them to fight ever harder and enabled them to reach a higher and higher summit. Without a strong opponent, no fighter got stronger himself. _Rival . . . friend . . . where is the boundary?_ Kaiba could almost hear the thought behind amethyst eyes, and it bothered him even now. Why did that feel so very familiar to him?

Jonouchi believed the same, challenging Kaiba for the umpteenth time to a duel between the two of them. "You say you don't need friends? That's what I said before. I'd get so angry when I heard that . . . but I changed since I met Yugi. Somethin' you can see but you can't see – it's friendship. I realized it after I met Yugi. Because of this friendship, I wanna beat Yugi in a duel an' become a True Duelist. That is my 'Battle City'. We're really no different, Kaiba." Kaiba could have ignored his barking, but then Jonouchi had turned to Mokuba. "What's the difference between the way me and my friends feel about Yugi, and the way you feel about your brother?" Kaiba finally accepted the challenge, determined to teach Jonouchi a lesson, that a True Duelist did not need a friend's power. "I beg for it!" Jonouchi had cried.

Kaiba realized that, in that duel, he was the one to learn a lesson, though he did not realize it until much later. Even as Jonouchi was about to lose, he had been laughing. "You're strong, Kaiba!"

Kaiba had allowed a grin of his own, if not stemming from the same emotion. "You won't admit your failure?" He recalled Honda's comment that Jonouchi was hard to deal with, and Otogi's rejoiner that "hard to deal with" was Jonouchi's strongest point.

Jonouchi had shrugged, responding to Kaiba's question. "Nah, I don't think so. It's exciting to fight against a strong warrior. That's the greatest fun!"

_Fun . ._ . Again, present-day Kaiba sighed. He had given up and forgotten how to have fun a long time ago. He used to love playing games for the sheer enjoyment, but his adoption by Gozaburo had changed that. Games were for winning or losing – period. There was no "fun" to be had. He recalled in sadness the quiet pain in his little brother's eyes as he had turned to leave before the very final round of Battle City, the fight between Yugi and Malik. This was no longer _his_ Battle City, and he was not going to stick around for a fight in which he had no business.

Ishizu had stopped him with two words, "_Pret kreto_." They were Ancient Egyptian . . . and he had understood them. She told him that they were words on a 3,000-year-old stone carving found in the Nameless Pharaoh's tomb. They were part of a prayer for the dead and had been dedicated to the deceased Pharaoh by a friend, left as an emblem of friendship by the sorcerer-priest he had seen in several visions now. He had begun this Battle City tournament because of the God cards, Ishizu had reminded him, and there was one duel left to be held on this Duel Tower – the battle for the Pharaoh's very soul. The Duel Tower he constructed was the crossing of souls, a sanctuary he had built with his own hands, but Kaiba had shaken his head in furious denial. The Duel Tower was an emblem of his hatred for Gozaburo. He had intended to become Duel King on top of that tower, to prove that he defeated everything! But it was all meaningless now. "Maybe I should sink myself into the sea." With that, he had turned yet again to leave . . . but, for the first time, Mokuba refused to follow, and what he had said shocked Kaiba to hear from his own brother.

"We don't have to let Yugi be involved in our anger and hatred! I hated Yugi and the others at first, too, but they fought for me on Pegasus's island, and rescued me from the Ghouls. They treat me as their friend! Big-Brother, I think what Yugi and Jonouchi said is true. Yugi said that the duelist's enemy is not only the monsters on the field, but the monsters of anger, hatred, and desire in his heart. And Jonouchi was having fun dueling you, even as he was about to lose. Big-Brother, you were once like that, too. You loved games in your heart . . . and I loved your smile back then. Y-you don't smile like that anymore." With tears in his eyes, Mokuba then begged Kaiba to promise him that when the Duel Tower sunk into the sea, his hatred would be erased along with it, crying, "I want my_ old brother back!_"

_Can I do it?_ he remembered asking himself. _Can I erase my hatred, as the Duel Tower sinks into the sea?_ There was only one way he could think of at least to start down that road, whether or not he could see it to the end his little brother so desperately wished. Yugi had only a three percent chance of defeating Malik with the cards in his deck. Kaiba had a card he had planned to use himself which would raise that, but only to twenty percent. It would still take a miracle to win. Even as he made up his mind to give Yugi that card for his duel with Malik, it was to prove a point for the last time, both to Yugi and to himself – that there were no miracles, no strength of friends in the world at all. Yugi's failure would be the proof.

That duel had been the most insane of all that he had seen and experienced, as he watched both combatants put their second souls on the line in what they had called a Shadow Game, much like the ones Malik had initiated twice before, resulting in two hopelessly unconscious patients in beds on the Battle Ship. Yugi –

Kaiba stopped at that. It was not Yugi who had fought that battle, not directly. He was not sure that he completely accepted all that he had been told, but he could not deny that it had been the original Yugi's visible soul caught up in the energy bindings, slowing getting devoured by the darkness as Life Points were lost. It was another, completely separate entity that inhabited and controlled the body for the duel itself, the one who had spoken to him on the helicopter, telling him that he was a pharaoh's ancient soul. It was that entity that Kaiba had dueled so many times, who had told him that he needed to defeat his demons within. It was that spirit too, whom Kaiba had felt touch his soul somehow when he created his miracle in that duel, pulling the one card that could save him, the card that Kaiba had given him – just as he had pulled and played Jonouchi's dragon when most desperately needed. The spirit had drawn and set Kaiba's card in play without even looking at it, knowing in his heart that it was _that_ card – and how to use it to its fullest potential. _Is this the strength of friends?_ Kaiba had asked himself. _Is this a miracle?_ Kaiba had not wanted to recognize it at the time but he could not turn his back on the knowledge – his and the spirit's souls had met in that instant and come away with something deep and unknowable. Soon after, the spirit managed to summon to the field both God cards in his possession and Kaiba recognized his intention. The spirit's Osiris was the shield and Kaiba's Obelisk the sword. Then, Osiris fell, and Kaiba knew that they would witness the great power of Obelisk's rage for his companion's sake. However, it seemed appropriate in the end that it was the later presence on the field of Yugi's signature Dark Magician and protégé Dark Magician Girl that allowed the spirit to summon the Armageddon that had defeated the dark spirit of Malik once and for all, winning Yugi the title of Duel King . . . and much more.

Kaiba had seen it. He had seen the last miracle he needed.

A soft knock at the door startled Kaiba back to the present, nearly causing him to spill wine on his precious dragons. He looked at the clock on the mantle and a soft, audible growl escaped up his throat. Who in the world would be up at two in the morning . . . ? "Come in."

Perhaps he should not have been so surprised to see Mokuba's thick mop of unruly black tresses as he peered tentatively around the door. "Big-Brother . . . ?"

"Mokuba?"

"Are you all right? I got up and went to check on you, but you weren't in bed."

Kaiba shook his head with an amused smirk. He was the older brother, the one meant to do the protecting and worrying, but Mokuba did his share all the same. He had a good heart in that respect, always trying to look out for his big brother in his own way.

"I've had a lot on my mind," Kaiba murmured at length.

"You haven't _changed_ your mind, have you?" Mokuba asked, frowning.

At that, a small genuine smile graced Kaiba Seto's face. "No, I have not changed my mind, Mokuba. But . . . " It was his turn to frown slightly. "Are you sure that you're okay with this? I don't know what to expect, and it may put off my promise to you."

Mokuba shook his head with great enthusiasm, grinning brightly. It reminded Kaiba of Yugi – not the fierce spirit but the original soul, gentle and compassionate and always thinking of others. Mokuba may not share the always-thinking-of-others in a general sense, but he always thought of Brother first. "No, Big-Brother! I've _told_ you that it's okay. America can wait. This can't. They need you . . . and I really think you need this, too."

Kaiba could not, in his heart, disagree. He had told the "other" Yugi that he had no need for the past and that he could only move forward by burying what was behind. In the intervening hours since the end of Battle City, he had truly come to believe that he had succeeded in burying his immediate past, but there was another past, an ancient one, that he had finally come to accept as real . . . well, _possibly_ real. He had seen and experienced too many things to deny it outright any longer. On the morrow, Yugi and his friends were taking the spirit to the museum along with the God cards, to confront the stone tablet that held the depiction of the pharaoh and the sorcerer-priest of antiquity just as the prophecy scarred across Malik's back instructed. Probably nothing would come of it . . . but if there were anything to be gained, there would be only one chance to gain it. Only when Kaiba had put this last mystery behind him once and for all could he truly move forward.

As Kaiba had promised Mokuba, he would be there when Yugi and the gang arrived at the museum and, one way or another, they would see what they would see.

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3 Standing on the Edge

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 3 – Standing on the Edge

_I'm so tired but I can't sleep  
Standin' on the edge of something much too deep  
It's funny how we feel so much, but we cannot say a word  
We are screaming inside, oh, but we can't be heard_

_Once there was a darkness, a deep and endless night  
You gave me everything you had – oh, you gave me light_

_And I will remember you_  
_Will you remember me?_  
_Don't let your life pass you by_  
_Weep not for the memories_

"I Will Remember You" – Sarah McLachlan

At school the next day, the spirit rode in the background as Yugi found his desk in his classroom, nearly a half-hour early, still rubbing sleep from his eyes. He jumped a little along with Yugi as a sudden voice startled them from behind. "S'up, Yug?"

"Oh, good morning, Jonouchi-kun."

Jonouchi regarded him in some concern. "What's goin' on? Ya look pretty tired. Did'ja sleep?"

"There was a lot going on last night," Yugi murmured. The spirit smiled, knowing that his _aibou's_ sleep had been fitful at best. Yugi was probably more excited than he was about what the day may hold for them.

"What do you mean, 'a lot'? Oh! _'A lot'!_ I get it." The spirit did not know if Yugi understood what Jonouchi thought he meant – he certainly did not. He chuckled as Jonouchi's next words made his _aibou's_ heart skip a beat. Jonouchi leaned in close, whispering, "Uh, speakin'a that, could ya gimme back that video I lent ya? I finally got my VCR fixed, so . . . "

"Huh? Video?"

Jonouchi leaned in closer, dropping his voice even further. "You know, the one with the – "

"Oh! _Th-that_ video!"

The spirit nearly laughed aloud from the solitude of his soul room, sensing the sudden, hot flush in Yugi's face. He knew which tape it was Jonouchi wanted, harboring his own suspicions as to its contents. Yugi had had it since before the spirit was fully self-aware and had actually started to watch it on three separate occasions, only to shut it off within moments each time, without the spirit knowing what he had seen – nor would he definitively answer the spirit's questions after the ruckus that had broken out when it was discovered. _Well_, the spirit mused, _"boys will be boys," I suppose, or so it's been said_. He could not help the pang in his heart as he caught himself wondering what he himself had been like at Yugi's age. He thought he could hardly have been any older than his partner when whatever had happened had taken place to result in his death and subsequent imprisonment.

"Uh, w-well, Grandpa found that and he – "

The spirit felt Yugi's heart stop beating completely for a second as a hand slapped him on the back, accompanied by Anzu's cheery voice. "Morning!"

"_Yerk!_" Yugi and Jonouchi gasped in unison.

Noting the furious blushes on both of her friends' faces, she snickered at them. "And just what were _you_ talking about, hm?"

Yugi's heart continued to be uncooperative – now it was racing. "G-good morning, Anzu."

"W-we weren't sayin' nothin'!" Jonouchi put in.

They were quite glad for Honda's "Yo!" as he joined the growing crowd around Yugi's desk, distracting from the question. Then, everyone turned as Bakura quietly slid up among them. From the look in his eyes, something clearly was amiss.

"Bakura-kun," Yugi murmured in concern, "what's wrong?"

"That damned Ring-spirit-guy ain't been messin' with ya again, has he?" Jonouchi growled.

Bakura waved him off. "Oh, no, no – nothing like that! Er, well . . . " His soft brown eyes fell away from theirs for a moment before he confided, "I . . . I had a strange dream last night, Yugi-kun. A dark-skinned man came to me. He had a cream-colored robe and turban, and thick black lining, kohl, around his eyes. From the kohl, I think he might have been Egyptian. Anyway, he told me that I had something that I didn't know I had and that I should be sure to bring it with me today to the museum."

Had the spirit possessed a body, he would have been holding his breath as Yugi asked slowly, "He . . . he wasn't carrying anything, was he?"

Bakura looked in confusion back and forth among Yugi, Jonouchi, and Anzu, not comfortable with the looks he was getting. "Come to think of it, yes, he was. He had an enormous gold key hung from a rope around his neck, and in his hand was a solid gold scale with . . . an eye design . . . over the fulcrum . . . " His voice trailed off as he realized what he was describing. "I remember him now. It was the same man who was depicted in that painting we saw in the banquet hall at Pegasus's castle on Duelist Kingdom Island. Those were the Millennium Key and Scales he was holding, weren't they?"

"It's . . . him," Anzu breathed with a slight tremor in her voice.

"Gotta be!" Jonouchi growled. "What I wouldn't give ta get my hands on – !"

"'Shadi,' or something. Wasn't that it?" Honda put in.

Everyone quieted when Yugi stood from his desk, meeting Bakura's eyes with an intense gaze. "Bakura-kun, are you sure? Is that exactly what he looked like?" Mutely, Bakura nodded. "Did you find what he was talking about?"

Bakura hesitated a long moment, fear haunting his large, soft chocolate eyes. "I-I . . . yes, I found something. This was in my bedroom, hidden in a corner of my wardrobe." From his pocket, he pulled a nearly-golfball-sized object that made everyone react almost violently.

Yugi was the first to find his voice with any coherency. "The Millennium Eye!" He had to fight to keep his voice down so as not to draw too much the attention of their classmates just beginning to filter into the room.

"Erk!" Jonouchi nearly slapped the hateful thing from Bakura's hand. "How the _hell_ did you – ?"

Bakura was equally distressed as he admitted, "I-I don't know. Honestly! My first thought was that it was the replica from Pegasus's soup bingo game. Yugi, do you remember giving me yours?" Yugi did not specifically, as the spirit had been in control at the time, but he gave a nod when he sensed the spirit's affirmation. "But it's far too heavy and there's no seam. It doesn't . . . pop open like the replica did. I-I don't even know whatever happened to that," Bakura added sheepishly.

"What . . . do you suppose it could mean?" Anzu queried in a small voice.

Honda was frowning. "You're all talking about that guy that came around about a year-and-a-half ago, aren't you?"

"The one that played us all for a bunch'a suckers an' nearly got half'v us _killed_?" Jonouchi growled. "Yeah, that's the guy."

Bakura frowned in deep horror as he told them, his voice barely above a whisper. "I . . . I'm afraid it's something that the dark spirit from my – from _the_ Ring must have stolen before we left the island. Y-you _know_ that I've had a lot of blackouts over time." He fell silent as a shudder took him.

The spirit could feel the ache of his _aibou_'s heart for their friend as Yugi gently took the Eye from Bakura's palm.

"It's all right, Bakura-kun," Yugi murmured. "Whatever that person did is not your fault. Please, try not to think about it. I'll take this and, as with the Millennium Ring, it will be _my_ responsibility now."

Bakura only gave a small nod of his head, his eyes still deeply haunted at the question of what atrocities had been wrought by his hands.

Honda released a breath. "So, Yugi, how many Items that make now?"

Yugi had brought two bags to school: his backpack with his schoolbooks and the knapsack with the Items. He sat back down and pulled the latter into his lap from the floor, opening it to deposit the Eye. "Five. I have the Puzzle, of course, plus the Rod, Necklace, and your Ring."

Bakura shook his head adamantly, thick, snowy locks bouncing. "No! Not 'mine,' not anymore. I don't _want_ it!"

"Say, Yugi," Anzu put in, "did you bring the God cards, too?"

"Yup!" He pulled the Puzzle's box from the knapsack, setting it on his desk.

For a long moment, the group only stared. It was Honda who finally opened the box, handling the precious items with decidedly less reverence than Yugi's grandfather had the night before. "The 'God' cards, huh? What can these do for the Other Yugi that they haven't done already?"

"Well, I hardly know myself," Yugi confided. "Neither does Other Me, really."

Jonouchi rolled his eyes. "C'mon! That's why we're goin' to the _museum_, right?"

"Yeah – and what's over there that's so important? They got an exhibit on trading cards now?"

"How should I know?" Jonouchi groused.

Bakura smiled at the argument between the two, but the spirit's attention as well as Yugi's was on Anzu, noting a deep and secret sadness that haunted her eyes. "Yugi," she ventured at length, "if . . . if the Other Yugi gets all of his lost memories as Pharaoh back . . . he wouldn't forget about all of _us_, would he?"

"Anzu . . . " Yugi murmured.

Within the Puzzle, the spirit growled. _No!_ No matter his own misgivings, he would not suffer such a concern to bother his friends. Yugi sensed the spirit's desire and gave Anzu a wink before mentally stepping back.

Power surged quietly through the Puzzle, and the spirit met the girl's eyes in more complete confidence than he actually felt. "Chh," he scoffed, "of course I wouldn't _forget_ you!" He gave her a grin, even as he noted with soft regret the hint of a blush that came to her cheeks as she realized which soul had spoken. Neither he nor Yugi were blind. They understood full well Anzu's feelings.

Jonouchi threw a chummy arm over Honda's shoulders, exclaiming, "You said it! Of course not! We're friends forever!"

"Th-that's right," Anzu managed, forcing a grin.

"All righty, then!" Jonouchi crowed, caught up in the moment. "Let's head for the museum!"

In exasperation, Honda threw off Jonouchi's arm. "You _moron_! It's not even first period yet!"

That snapped Anzu from her funk as well, as she rolled her eyes at him. "Cool it, Jonouchi. We'll go _after _school."

Chuckling silently to himself, the spirit withdrew once more as the first warning bell rang. _Ancient gods . . ._

When the inevitable time came, he was dearly going to miss these people.

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4 The Answer

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 4 – The Answer

The spirit "watched" from the door of his soul room as Yugi stepped off the bus at the museum to find that his grandfather had already arrived. To both souls' surprise, so had two others, sitting alongside Grandpa on a park bench.

"Kaiba Seto!" Jonouchi startled.

"Ah! Hello, Kaiba-kun, Mokuba-kun! What brings you here?" Bakura put in as Honda elbowed Jonouchi into silence.

"Hey, guys!" Mokuba waved amicably.

Kaiba regarded the quintet for a long moment before responding in a low voice, "The same thing that brings all of you." With a small, wry smirk, he added, "If that's all right with the other you."

Yugi responded with a light-hearted chuckle before stepping back.

As he took control, the spirit nodded in good humor, giving Mokuba a grin of welcome before turning to the elder Kaiba. "I have to say that I would never have expected to see you here, but I'm glad that you are." More seriously, he held the other's eye and confessed, "It means a lot to me, Kaiba. Thank you for coming – all of you." His gaze shifted to include first Mokuba, then Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, Bakura, and finally Yugi's grandfather, Mutou Sugoroku.

8 8 8 8 8

Sugoroku met the gaze of the one standing before him in the corpus of his grandson. He had known for some time, since before his soul's imprisonment in the videotape during Duelist Kingdom. Still, he had found himself hesitant to confront the spirit face-to-face before now. Perhaps he had been wrong in that. He had seen the positive effects on his grandson that had been wrought by solving the Millennium Puzzle and associating with the spirit.

"It was initially your courage and persistence that made it possible for me to stand here now," the spirit went on, and then explained for the others. "Grandpa is the one who navigated the traps in the tomb in Egypt and brought out the golden box that contained the Puzzle. You are to thank as much as Yugi is for my being here, Grandpa."

Somehow, it meant a lot to hear himself be called "Grandpa" by this person with almost the same depth of affection as his grandson used. He put a wrinkled hand on his grandson's – on the spirit's – shoulder. "I would not miss this for the world, honored pharaoh."

"Well," Honda laughed, "we gonna stand out here all afternoon, or are we gonna get this show on the road?"

"Ut-oh!" Anzu gasped suddenly. "We'll need to buy tickets to even get in! Did everyone bring enough money?"

Sugoroku saw Kaiba roll his eyes even as he himself reached for his wallet, mentally calculating how much tickets were going to cost, but Bakura laughed and assured her, "No need to worry. It's already been taken care of. My father is the curator, remember? I've already spoken with him and have passes for everyone waiting at the box office, plus I can get a few more without _too_ much trouble," he added with a wink, taking in Sugoroku and the Kaiba brothers.

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

The spirit led the group across the plaza, drawing up to the bottom of the stairs, and paused when a man stepped into view at the top. He was tall, dressed in a cream-colored robe with a turban wrapped around his head. Gold glittered from objects in both hands. Dispassionate eyes rimmed in kohl gazed down at the group of them.

Only Honda's quick reflexes kept Jonouchi from pounding up the stairs in a sudden rage. "_YOU!_ What the _hell_ do you think – ! Honda, lemme go!"

The spirit put a hand on Jonouchi's arm, silently asking him to calm himself, as Kaiba stepped up by his side with the question, "Who are you?"

The spirit answered in the man's stead, a deep growl in his voice. "His name is Shadi. He's from Egypt, from the same clan as Malik, Ishizu, and Rishid."

"The Clan of the Tombkeepers." Kaiba nodded, having heard the full story. "And the items he's carrying – ?"

It was the spirit's turn to nod. "Millennium Items."

From the top of the stairs, Shadi addressed them. "I do not apologize for my actions back then . . . though I admit that I may have been a bit harsh."

"Chh! A _bit_ – !" Jonouchi stopped, however, at the unexpected growl from low on his left, from none other than Mutou-Grandfather.

Sugoroku glared up at the Egyptian. "It was you who killed Kanekura-san, aren't you? And I _know _that you set my friend Yoshimori-sensei after Jonouchi-kun, somehow."

"Not ta mention Anzu's . . . " Again, Jonouchi stopped himself, catching the haunted, almost frightened expression in Anzu's eyes.

Unfazed, Shadi maintained eye contact solely with the spirit. "Pharaoh, you and your host have come a long way in recognizing and communicating with one another. At my last visit to this country, you had not yet even learned of each other's existence, and it took great trauma to awaken and draw you out from him." A very small smile tugged at his lips as he added, "It is something of a compliment, really, to your host's strength of mind, that it took so much to overwhelm him in hopeless grief enough to force you out."

"We have learned a great deal, yes," the spirit snarled, "and if you ever attempt such a thing again with _any_ of those in my care . . . " He let the threat hang between them, his fury hot and nearly palpable in the cool, afternoon air.

Shadi shook his head. "That will not be necessary. I learned what I had set about to determine. In that Shadow Game and in the trials that have beset you since, you have proven that you are in fact the _true_ pharaoh for whom my entire clan has waited for three thousand years. You now stand in possession of the three God cards and all seven Millennium Items. The time to regain your memories and your rightful self is at hand."

The spirit frowned. "I have five of the Items. You still hold the last two, Shadi, or are you saying that you will freely give them to me? What is your game _this_ time? What is the _cost_ for the final two Millennium Items, Shadi?"

"I cannot answer that with words you will believe. Let my actions speak for me." With that, he descended the stairs with slow and deliberate steps. The company braced back from his approach, but he stopped halfway down. Turning his back to them, he crouched briefly, then stood, sidestepped and returned to the top of the stairs. On the step where he had paused, the Millennium Scale stood gleaming in the afternoon sun, the Key resting across its base. "Approach and freely claim them, Pharaoh. Through trials of fire and darkness, you have earned them."

For a long moment, the spirit stood his ground, studying Shadi warily. He knew very well that this might be a trap of some kind, but he could not see the what or the why of it were that the case. At length, he made his decision.

"N-no!" Anzu gasped, catching his arm as he started forward.

The spirit paused, laying his hand over hers for a moment with a nod and grin of reassuring confidence, before pulling gently from her grip to ascend the stairs and claim the Items. Slowly, the rest of the gang followed suit as the spirit continued up to the broad patio of the museum itself.

Shadi withdrew several paces, allowing the spirit his space. "I understand that you do not trust me. Too much has happened, both by my own hand and by the doing of countless others. However, with or without your trust, I will carry out the completion of the sacred duty of my clan. Soul of the Pharaoh, by the will of the God cards, you have come to this museum. You will travel now to the World of Memory and face your destiny once again."

The spirit gasped at that. _The 'World of Memory' . . . !_

Shadi held the spirit's gaze with an inescapable intensity. "No matter how _painful_ the experiences, you must not look away." Then, his gaze shifted to find Kaiba's and Sugoroku's. "The same goes for you."

Jonouchi growled. "Whoa! Wait just a minute, you! What're you tryin' ta say?"

"Shadi," the spirit queried in a low voice, "how much do you know about my memories . . . and the secrets of the Millennium Items?"

The Egyptian shook his head. "The answers to all puzzles are in the World of Memory. You must see with your own eyes, Pharaoh. Come." Without looking back, he strode for the entrance to the museum, leaving the rest to follow as they would. They were halfway through the building before anyone spoke again.

"Hey, Yu – erm . . . I-I mean . . . "

The spirit turned at Honda's voice, noting how his friend had caught himself calling the spirit by Yugi's name. It was what they had called him for so long . . . but Honda looked as painfully aware as he was that it was not, in fact, rightfully his. He felt Yugi's quiet smile of support as he met Honda's eyes softly. "It's all right, Honda. Aibou says that he doesn't mind sharing his name. What were you about to say?"

Honda scratched at the back of his head for an instant, then swung the knapsack forward off his shoulder, the one with the other Items within. Yugi had given it to him on the bus, as Honda had offered to carry it for him. "Ah . . . well, I was just wondering if you wanted to free up your hands and add those in with the rest." He pointed at the Key and Scale.

The spirit looked down at the golden artifacts in his fists. They thrummed with a tactile power, and part of him was reluctant to release them. He knew that Yugi could not sense the energies in the Items, or he would not have given the knapsack into Honda's keeping. The spirit did not want to risk any more harm to his friends than they had already suffered. Still, they had come here of their own free will, following as they had always done. He could not have kept them away if he had forced them.

And he suspected that he would need his hands free. "Yes, Honda. Thank you."

They had paused in the hallway just past a gift shop, Anzu pacing along with the rest though, by her eyes, the spirit had suspected that her mind was elsewhere in thought. As he tucked the Items into the knapsack, Anzu's sudden, small gasp startled them. "I'll be right back. Grandfather, would you come help me find something, please?" Without even waiting for an answer, she dragged Sugoroku into the gift shop.

Jonouchi shook his head in disbelief. "Leave the souvenirs till later!"

"Anzu!" Mokuba called in concern.

After a moment, Anzu and Sugoroku rejoined the group. There was a sad smile of understanding on the old man's face as he met the spirit's eye knowingly, while Anzu held something to her heart, hidden in her fist.

Kaiba cocked an eye at her and muttered, not too unkindly, "Didn't find any replica Puzzles for sale?"

Anzu shot him a look, then stepped up to the spirit. "Yugi, I want you to have this." She held out her hand. As her fingers uncurled, a long, fine chain fell free, hanging from the jeweler's ring at the top of a pendant in her palm.

The spirit accepted the gift, holding up the odd necklace in curiosity. It was a long, ovoid plate of golden metal, the surface perfectly smooth within a rounded frame all around the edge. The bottom of the frame flared into a shape like a low pedestal. "What's this?" He thought the design seemed vaguely familiar.

"It's a cartouche pendant. It's like a nameplate."

Sugoroku added, "The ancient pharaohs always had their names written on such cartouches."

"There's no name on this one," the spirit pointed out. He had seen things like this before when Yugi and the others were out wandering and shopping – usually keychains with common names preprinted or molded. He did not suppose that "Yugi" was a common enough name for them to have found a premade cartouche.

With a smile, Anzu explained, "I want you to carve your _real_ name on there, Yugi."

That stopped the spirit cold. _My . . . _real_ name . . . ?_

"That way, when you get your memories and you _real name_ back, you'll never forget it again."

Mokuba looked up at him in empathy. "You . . . you don't even know your own name? Aww, I hadn't thought about that."

Sugoroku put a hand on his shoulder. "That's what we're here to find out, lad."

Kaiba nodded thoughtfully. "Any time the pharaoh's name was scribed on anything, it was surrounded by that cartouche design. There is one cartouche among the images and hieroglyphs on one of the stone slabs, but the name was chiseled off the center."

"Ah, man, that's just cold!" Jonouchi muttered.

Shadi met his eye calmly. "No. It was vital."

The spirit slipped the chain of the necklace over his head with deliberate care, tucking it in under the shirt. "Thank you, Anzu. I will treasure it always!"

"Okay!" Anzu grinned.

Shadi gestured. "Come. The tablet awaits."

The group continued on its way, descending into the basement and rounding a corner into a room. Stone statues of seated Egyptian figures and large painted wooden panels protected behind glass panes flanked them to either side, while two great carven stone murals commanded attention in the wall ahead. Set into deep, glass-paned alcoves, the left-hand tablet especially took one's attention. The design was equal parts graphic images and hieroglyphic text. Two humanoid characters dominated the lower half of the panel, opposing figures with hands outstretched to one another over a burning brazier – a sorcerer-priest on the left holding the Millennium Rod, the pharaoh on the right with the Millennium Puzzle hung from his neck. Those who had laid eyes on this tablet before now still marveled at the unmistakable likenesses to Kaiba and Yugi. Those who had not were gathering their jaws back up off the floor, their eyes popping out of their heads in utter disbelief.

In a small voice of trepidation and awe, Yugi spoke up at last from within the spirit's heart. -_Finally, it's time, Other M - ! . . . I-I mean . . . _-

The spirit closed his eyes, mentally stepping back for just an instant to meet his cherished _aibou_ in the netherspace between their souls. Sharing Yugi's excitement and impending sense of grief, he laid a reassuring hand on the ethereal shoulder of this, his closest friend. -_Aibou, there is a portion of me that will always be the 'other you'. You and I have been as one for too long for it to be any other way – nor, truly, would I have it _be_ any other way. No matter what happens, we will carry a part of each other's spirits forever._-

Tears in his eyes, Yugi managed a genuine smile and nodded. -_Yup._-

The spirit returned outside, regarding the imposing stone slab before him. _The time _has_ come. The brand on Malik's back showed me what to do. I have to present the three God cards to the Tablet of Memory . . ._ He turned, but Honda was a step ahead, already offering the golden box. He took in hand the three cards, splaying them across his fingers. _And _then_ what will happen?_ His gaze wandered up past the figures of the priest and pharaoh, past the dragon and mage facing off over their heads, to the depiction of the Millennium Puzzle surrounded by images of the three Egyptian Gods: Obelisk to the Puzzle's right, Ra's Dragon on the left, and Osiris above.

"Yugi . . . " the spirit heard Jonouchi murmur behind him as he shifted the cards in his grip to face outward.

_The answer is here!_

The rumble began as soon as the spirit lifted his hand with the cards, presenting them to the tablet. The images of the Puzzle and Gods shimmered, then a terrific, blinding flash erupted from the carven Puzzle image, answered by an equal flare from the real Puzzle. The combined bedazzlement born of the ancient power at work filled the entire room, overwhelming the senses of all those present.

Just as suddenly, it was gone, leaving three collapsed bodies in its wake.

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5 The Cruel Fate

Author's Note: December 12, 2007 – For those of you _not_ new to this story but have it on Author or Story Alert (and I THANK YOU for that, by the way, if you do) before this date, please note that this, Chp 5, is not it. I am reposting the story, though it _does_ include new material – Chp's 12 on. Please see the explanation in Chp 1.

ARGH! I hate how FFnet's coding will nit-pick - and randomly CHANGE - what characters it will recognize!

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 5 – The Cruel Fate

"What the heck – !?"

"What's happening?!"

"Ah!! Big-Brother!!"

The blinding radiance was gone as suddenly as it had come and, for a brief moment, no one could see well enough to discern what had just befallen them. Jonouchi blinked tears from his eyes, trying to force them to focus once again.

"Big-Brother! No, _Big-Brother!!_"

Jonouchi turned first to see Mokuba on his knees beside his sibling's unconscious body. Sugoroku, too, had crumpled mysteriously. He watched Bakura drop down next to Mokuba, checking for a carotid pulse first on Kaiba, then Sugoroku, and nod uncertainly. "They . . . there's a good, steady heartbeat on both of them. They're just . . . passed out."

"Yugi!!" Jonouchi swung around in a sudden panic back towards the stone slab. He saw that his best friend was conscious because he was not laid out flat like the others, though he had collapsed to hands and knees, shaking hard. The God cards were nowhere to be seen. "Yugi! Hey, Yugi!! Are you okay!?" Jonouchi crouched down next to him, Anzu on the other side. No one was even sure which soul was in charge at the moment.

The other slowly sat back on his heels, his bangs hiding his face. He caught up the Puzzle in both hands. "Other Me . . . " a small, tremulous voice whispered in utter disbelief. "H-he's _gone!_"

"_WHAT!??_"

"The Other Yugi is gone?!"

xxxxx

Still hunched over, Yugi pressed the Millennium Puzzle to his forehead, trying desperately to "feel" into it somehow. Then, he half-turned over his shoulder to meet his friends' shocked expressions. "He's not in the Puzzle . . . or in my _heart_! I don't know _where_ he is!" Hot tears slid unheeded down his cheeks in response to the terrible grief that had taken a sudden stranglehold on his chest.

"N-no way . . . " was the only comment forthcoming from anyone, Jonouchi shaking his head.

For a moment, stunned silence dominated the exhibit chamber. Even Mokuba kept quiet except for the sniffling as he pulled his brother's head into his lap. Bakura busied himself with shifting Sugoroku into a more comfortable position.

Completely oblivious to his insensate companions behind him – indeed to any of his friends' presence for a moment – Yugi knelt doubled over the Puzzle in heart-wrenching bereavement, the smooth metal surface unnaturally cold against his brow. _WHERE DID YOU GO?!__ Nakama . . . Other Me, where _are_ you?_

A soft voice broke the silence. "The pharaoh has gone to the world of his memory." Everyone jumped, having forgotten the Egyptian's presence.

_The World of Memory?!_ Yes, Shadi had said that before. Yugi twisted to his feet, turning to face Shadi, only then to note the bodies on the floor behind him. "G-grandpa!? Kaiba-kun!!"

"Y-yugi . . . " Mokuba's big eyes met his with fear and grief as deep as his own.

Yugi whirled on the Egyptian. "Shadi-san, what – ?!"

Shadi raised a hand to stay the group's anger. "I have done nothing. The power of the Millennium Puzzle took them with him. I had suspected as much." He met Yugi's eyes with unaccountable calm. "The pharaoh must face his fate again. In his search for the truth, he must travel into the maze of long-lost memories."

Yugi was still trying to rein his chaotic emotions back under control. "The . . . World of Memory?"

"Yes." Shadi gestured their attention to the stone panel. "The God Cards that the pharaoh won in Battle City have fulfilled the ancient prophecy. When the pharaoh presented them to this stone slab, it opened the door in the Millennium Puzzle to the place where his memories were sealed. Those memories of three thousand years ago – when the pharaoh lived – have been revived, and now he walks in the world of his memories."

Yugi shook his head. That made no sense to him. "Does that mean Other Me has gone through a time warp to three thousand years ago?"

Shadi shook his head in reassurance, betraying his first hint of emotion concerning the situation. His eyes soft, he encouraged them, "That's not it. Even as the pharaoh becomes part of the World of Memory, his memories of the present will remain. What is taking place is purely mental. His memories are replaying themselves in his soul. The secrets of the Millennium Items will be revealed as well."

"Then, no matter where he goes," Anzu pressed, "he'll still remember us?"

"Yes. The World of Memory is built of events that actually happened three thousand years ago, and so the course of events is already determined." He met their gazes steadily, willing them to understand and prepare themselves. "The pharaoh must relive his cruel fate once more." Yugi's eyes dropped away from his almost immediately. The young man knew exactly what he meant, had long been fearing it for his friend's sake.

"His 'cruel fate'?" Anzu echoed. "What do you mean?"

"I think I know," Yugi murmured, his voice almost too soft to be heard. His heart ached painfully with the realization. "He'll experience his _death_ . . . for the second time." His eyes found Shadi's again for confirmation, even as he heard Anzu's deep gasp of horror from next to him.

"Yugi – ?"

Yugi turned again at Mokuba's wretched voice. The boy was stroking his brother's hair almost absently, his face wet with tears. Yugi crossed to kneel by his side, his gaze finding Bakura's with a silent question. Bakura only shrugged and shook his head. Yugi slipped one of his hands each into Kaiba's and Sugoroku's – his rival-friend and his grandfather – then looked over his shoulder up at the Egyptian, tears falling anew. "_Why_, Shadi-san? You said the Puzzle took them along with My Other Se – I-I mean, the pharaoh. Why did it take just them? Why not _all_ of us!?"

Jonouchi growled. "Yeah, why is that?!"

"We want to go, too!" Honda asserted.

Shadi studied the group for a long moment. At length, he met Mokuba's eye and gave the boy a small, genuine smile of comfort. Stepping to Kaiba's side opposite Yugi, he crouched down and lifted the teenager in his arms as easily as he might have hoisted a small child, carrying him to the cushioned bench along one wall of the room. He laid Kaiba out with extreme care, commenting quietly over his shoulder, "Honda, Bakura, pull the other bench over next to this one. Jonouchi, bring Mutou-san here and lay him on that bench. We could have a very long wait."

The group did as instructed, though Jonouchi growled, "That don't explain nothin', Shadi!" as he held Sugoroku cradled in his arms while the bench was set into place.

Shadi shifted Kaiba's feet to one side with care, settling himself on the end of the bench. "As I said, this was not my doing. I cannot say for certain, but it does seem to confirm what I felt to be true as soon as I laid eyes on them. I believe that they went and you did not because theirs are reincarnated souls. Their spirits are a part of the pharaoh's memories, though I cannot say how. This is one adventure that none of you can follow. You cannot help him directly this time, but he will not forget what you have done for him up to now, even as he relives his more distant past, and he will return to you as soon as the World of Memory has played itself to conclusion."

"As soon as . . . as he d-dies again . . . and remembers how he got trapped in the Puzzle in the first place." Yugi choked on the words, eyes closed in anguish at the very thought, his hands balled in tight fists at his sides. He had _promised_. He had promised the spirit, his closest friend, that he would always be there . . . but now, when his dear friend _must_ be in the most need . . .

"No, Yugi, he is not." The gently whispered assurance snapped Yugi's attention up to Shadi once more. The man gazed back at him with a soft smile. "He is not facing this alone. Kaiba and your grandfather were drawn in together with him for a reason, and they are two people that he both respects and trusts. Your friend is _not_ alone in his trials."

Yugi swallowed and gave a reluctant nod. "I understand."

"And your promise to him has not been broken."

That one caught Yugi off-guard. "H-huh?"

"When he needs you the most, I have no doubt you will be by his side. You were not there three thousand years ago. He remembers now the past, but there is yet the future for which he still walks the earth to begin with. Everything that you and he have fought for together was to get him to this point, to allow him to unlock his memories and regain his true name. Once his journey through the World of Memory is completed, however, I suspect his real quest will only just begin. _That_ is when he will need you more than ever . . . all of you."

A long silence followed the pronouncement. At length, Bakura licked his lips nervously and ventured after a deep breath, "S-so . . . how will we know? When he's done, I mean."

"Chh," Honda muttered, "when those two wake up."

"He will know." Shadi inclined his head toward Yugi, who nodded.

Honda packed the Puzzle's box back into the knapsack as Bakura excused himself to fetch drinks and snacks for his companions, courtesy of the employee break room. Yugi settled himself against the wall by Kaiba's head, where he could see his grandfather's face. With his knees drawn up and the Puzzle comfortably tucked against his abdomen, he pulled the blank cartouche pendant from under his shirt, fingering it disconsolately. The question would not let him be – what had happened so long ago? What could possibly have taken place to make someone have to forget the very core of his self?

The minutes ticked by in silence, leaving each of those present lost in his or her own thoughts.

The night before had been a long one and, as the time wore on, Yugi found that he was drowsy in spite of himself. His chin dipped forward several times before he finally gave in, wrapping his arms around his shins and laying his head forward on his knees.

_Great strife washed around him in dizzying waves of pain, terror, and death. The threat had been building for several days, ever since that thief had shown his ugly face in the throne room, with his stolen gold and his blasphemous bearing. He was after the seven Millennium Items, but what the villain released was far greater and more terrible than even he had expected. The final war that erupted was not only over the kingdom, but for the very existence of humanity itself against a horrific darkness. _

_Not even the powers of the three hidden gods could stand up to the abyssal menace. Before the demon, whole contingents of his mighty army were swept aside like fragile reeds before the surging waters of an angry Nile, and his priests fell one by one around him. Even his beloved vizier, the advisor appointed to his side at his father's death when he took the throne at too young an age –_

A terrible, anguished cry filled the room, the sound yanking Yugi back to consciousness. Before he could focus his sleepy vision, he recognized his grandfather's voice – but not the language he was speaking. Sugoroku had sat bolt upright, burying both fists in the front of Bakura's school jacket, snarling off demands and questions.

"Err . . . Y-yugi!?" Bakura sputtered.

Sugoroku paused, seeming to come to his senses a bit, recognizing the name as if from some far off time or place. He turned over his shoulder, then was scrambling to his grandson in shock, but the sight of the figure on the bench next to his stopped him cold. "_Hem-netjer-tepet Seti!!_" He shifted then to take in more fully the sight of Yugi, reaching tentatively as though he barely dared hope, tears of remembered horror and present joy filling his eyes. "_Per-aa.i, in ankh,ek?_"

Standing, Shadi placed a gentle hand on the old man's arm and shook his head. "_Nen. Netef sa ny sa,ek__. Sugoroku, sekha,ek_."

"Sek-ha-ick what?" Jonouchi wanted to know.

The old man eyed Shadi severely. "_Sugoroku?!_" He looked downright insulted, then muttered in a peevish tone. "_Tepey 'it ny it.i' . . . Tjatey Siamun Muran ren.i_."

Yugi had leaped up by this point, grabbing Sugoroku's arm. "Grandpa!!" Sugoroku regarded him without fully understanding whom he was seeing.

Suddenly, the Millennium Puzzle flashed with power again, this time the force of the energies slamming Yugi back into the wall. He slumped, knocked out of his senses.

"Yugi! Yugi!!"

He heard his name called, but it took a moment to gather his wits about him enough once again to look up. Even as he did, Kaiba's back arched with a violent intake of breath, and his eyes were wild and unseeing as he surged to his feet, throwing Mokuba off before his mind could comprehend what had been clinging to him, who fell back with a hurt tremor of "Big-Brother?" "_In __tjen.i . . . ?_" Kaiba wanted to know. His eyes found Sugoroku's, then filled with more genuine relief than any of them would have thought possible as he gripped the old man by both shoulders. "_Tjatey Siamun, in ankh,ek?!_"

Shadi placed himself between the two of them, shaking the shoulder of each slightly to gain their attentions. "_Kaiba Seto, Mutou Sugoroku, sekha,tjen._" When they stared at him without comprehending, Shadi repeated himself in Japanese. "Kaiba, Mutou, remember yourselves." Slowly, comprehension dawned in both pairs of eyes.

A groan from Yugi brought everyone's attention back down to him. Jonouchi dropped to his knees by Yugi's side. "Yug!! Hey, you okay, buddy?"

"I-I . . . yup, I'm all right, Jou-kun." Yugi rubbed the back of his head where it had connected rather painfully with the wall. Looking down out of reflex as he did so, a small, golden plate of interrupted metal surface snagged his attention. "AAH!!" He caught up the cartouche pendant into his hand. No longer empty, there were five symbols carved inexplicably down its surface. "His _name!_ My Other Self's name!!" he exclaimed excitedly. "It _has_ to be!"

Kaiba grabbed Yugi's arm. "Did . . . did he make it back as well? The pharaoh?"

Yugi could not help but marvel at the look of undeniable concern burning in Kaiba's laser blue eyes. He might have been talking about his little brother for all the earnestness he demonstrated. "Er . . . y-yup – oh! _Yes!!_" Yugi silently berated himself for a fool. Even in all the excitement of strange languages, how could he have missed the return of his other self to the Puzzle? He closed his eyes and reached inward. Rather vaguely, Yugi could sense the spirit, but there was no responding touch. _N-nakama . . ._ _?_ He opened his eyes and looked up, meeting Kaiba's with a growing sense of dread. "He's here but . . . he's not answering . . ."

Kaiba turned to Honda without explanation, snatching the knapsack before the other could protest. Yanking it open, he rummaged through the golden Items within, pausing as his hand found the shaft of the Millennium Rod. He hesitated only an instant before absently pulling and setting it aside, then found his original objective down at the bottom. He turned then, thrusting the Millennium Key into Sugoroku's hands. "Siamun, you were one of the Six Chosen Priests before Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen made you his son's vizier. You know how to wield this. Get us in there to check on the pharaoh!" To everyone else's surprise, Sugoroku did not question, only gave a grim nod and turned to his grandson.

"Ah . . . Grandpa . . . ?"

Sugoroku gave him a reassuring smile. "It's all right, Yugi. I know what I'm doing." He touched the Key to Yugi's forehead, Kaiba setting his hand over top of Sugoroku's.

As power flashed from the Key and the Puzzle, Jonouchi leaped forward to set his hand atop Kaiba's. "Not without _me_, you're n – !"

The brilliant light of power threatened to blind them all, then was gone, and four souls with it.

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!

HUGE THANK YOU to my friend TaiChara for helping me translate these comments!!! ((grin)) And please note! - words with dashes in them are correct. Where there are periods in the middle of words is ALSO correct. Words with commas in the middle of them . . . the commas SHOULD be periods too, but for some reason FFnet's system kept /dropping/ the words completely if I spelled them that way... :HEADDESK!!!: Why did it accept some and not others? .....I have no /freaking/ idea.

_Hem-netjer-tepet Seti!!_ – "High Priest Seti!!"

_Per-aa.i, in ankh,ek? – _"My Pharaoh, do you live?"

_Nen. Netef sa ny sa,ek__. Sugoroku, sekha,ek. – _"No. He is the son of your son (meaning: your grandson). Sugoroku, remember yourself."

_Tepey 'it ny it.i' . . . Tjatey Siamun Muran ren.i. – _"First 'father of my father' (meaning: 'grandfather') . . . My name is Vizier Siamun Muran."

_In __tjen.i . . .? – _"Where am I?"

_Tjatey Siamun, in ankh,ek?!_ – "Vizier Siamun, you live?!"

_Kaiba Seto, Mutou Sugoroku, sekha,tjen._ – Kaiba Seto, Mutou Sugoroku, remember yourselves.


	6. Chapter 6 Grief

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters."

Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 6 – Grief

For an instant, Yugi feared that he had been stricken blind. Then, three points of golden light began to glow softly in the deep, cold darkness – the Puzzle, Key, and Rod. Yugi picked himself up off the ground, turning to help his grandfather as Jonouchi groaned and sat up. "Anyone get the number'a that bus?"

"Small fry," Kaiba muttered out of irritated reflex as he pulled himself to his knees.

The glow of the Items slowly gained in strength. "Whoa . . . !" Jonouchi breathed in awe at the vastness of the chamber. "Hey, Yugi, where are we?"

For himself, Yugi was not sure. He had expected that they would be transported to the room of the spirit's soul, hidden within the ethereal energies of the Puzzle. He had been there before, but it had not looked like this. The room had been built of stone and had a distinct Egyptian flair to what little décor was to be had, but that was where the similarities ended. Whereas the room before had appeared to be constructed by an architect from the school of M.C. Escher, this had none of the countless doorways and stairways that ran in every which direction imaginable. The foursome lay near one end of a single, wide room, with faded murals painted on the walls. There were a number of enormous columns along the walls as well, some having fallen over among other debris that littered the broken floor from a largely collapsed ceiling, open to a black and starless sky. The group crouched behind one such great column, blocking much of the room from immediate view. Yugi walked along to its end where he could see more of the chamber's ground level. Far across from him, the floor was raised up as a low dais that stretched from wall to wall, had to be some ten to fifteen feet deep and perhaps four feet high. At the center between two worn yet majestic blocks carven-and-painted with cobras and Eyes of Horus stood a high-backed throne crested with a winged disk. A narrow stair joined the floor proper to the level of the platform and the throne. The entire room felt ancient, cold and distant, broken and abandoned. The sensation hung in the air as a nearly palpable cloud of disconsolate devastation, and the new occupants shuddered under its oppression.

"The royal throne room . . . or what's left of it," Kaiba murmured in response to Jonouchi's question as he and the others joined Yugi at the end of the massive column, but Yugi barely heard him. His mind was just taking in the enormity of the change in scenery when he registered one detail that literally had not been there a heartbeat ago. As if in response to his silent question, a lithe human figure lay half-curled on the stairs before the throne, looking and feeling very small and insignificant in the vastness of the chamber and the darkness of the heart that remembered it. A once-majestic cloak of royal blue flared over and behind the slender body, the tattered remains still managing to cover much of its owner from view. Beneath, linens that previously had been pure white were darkly stained, the edges ragged. Tarnished gold bands glinted dully from the figure's visible arm and around both shins, the once-white slippers on his feet scuffed and worn. His face was hidden, buried in his folded arms, the hue of his skin bronzed as dark as Shadi's, but there was no mistaking the thick red-black hair that crowned him. The terrible grief emanating from the lone, noble figure threatened to crush them under its weight.

Yugi choked, stricken to the core at the sight and the storm of inexpressible emotions that he could feel radiating from the spirit. "M-my Other Self, no!" He dashed across the room, heedless of the broken, uneven floor.

"Oh, great Pharaoh – !" Sugoroku moaned, following a mere step behind, Jonouchi and Kaiba on his heels.

Yugi dropped to his knees by the pharaoh's head and gasped at what he saw. The spirit looked as though he had been in an appalling battle, covered in dirt and blood, much of the latter quite possibly his own. He made not a sound but bitter tears streamed unheeded down his cheek, his shoulders shaking with repressed sobs. Out of the corner of his eye, Yugi vaguely registered his grandfather start to approach and Jonouchi catch him with a shake of the head. This was Yugi's place.

Yugi breathed, "Nakama." Very gently, he placed a hand on the spirit's arm. The pharaoh gave a violent gasp and pulled away, eyes snapping up to his in a wild moment of defensiveness, terror and rejection, and Yugi flinched away from the impressions that pounded out at him for just an instant from those deep pools of amethyst.

The spirit relaxed slightly when he realized that he was not in immediate danger, then slowly registered whom it was who had managed to sneak up on him in his moment of weakness. In something akin to disbelief, he reached out a trembling, blood-stained hand to touch Yugi's face. "A-ai . . . bou . . . ?" The word came out a broken, whispered croak.

Yugi forced a grin of reassurance, the dirty, battered face before him blurred by his own tears. "Yup. It's me, Nakama. I'm here. Y-you're going to be okay. N-no, you _are_ okay," he asserted, correcting himself with a shake of his head.

The spirit dropped his face into his hands, moaning, "N-no, I . . . am_ not_ okay . . ." Realizing that he had spoken the confession aloud, he seemed to come to himself and began to clean his face of wetness, pulling himself more upright. It was unbecoming to be seen so, even by –

Yugi shook his head again. He knew that it was unhealthy to bury and deny one's grief, regardless of station in life. Pulling the spirit's hands from his face, Yugi shifted himself closer and wrapped his arms around the spirit. The pharaoh fought the gesture but only for an instant, then collapsed gratefully into his _aibou's_ shoulder, releasing the inconsolable sobs of his wounded heart, hands clutching at Yugi's shirt. Yugi wept with him. He could not imagine what had so completely shattered his partner's immovable calm like this, but he did not need to know, not yet. It was enough for him for now that he could be here to comfort his friend.

8 8 8 8 8

The spirit let himself sob for a long moment, grateful for the earnest release of all that pent-up grief and fear. The others held their peace until the tears began to slow and quiet down. Finally, Sugoroku could contain himself no longer. "Pharaoh . . . !" He dropped down by Yugi's side.

The spirit shifted reluctantly, pushing back from Yugi and wiping his face again before meeting his former vizier's eyes. With an infinitely-weary chuckle, he murmured, "I know, I know, Si-Amun. This is no way for the living representation of the gods to behave – " His words cut off with a startled gasp as Sugoroku hauled him into an embrace.

"Oh, protocol be damned, my boy! You were always as a son to me, and we are no longer in Egypt." His voice trembled with his own tears. "I-It's been you with my grandson this whole time. I didn't remember . . . "

The young pharaoh's voice shook as the tears threatened to fall anew, and he clutched back at his beloved advisor. "Y-you died . . . I couldn't save you. Si-Amun, I couldn't . . . all my power wasn't enough. I-I couldn't defeat him. I wasn't strong enough. I-I . . . failed."

"No," a voice countered quietly, firmly, "you succeeded, Pharaoh, and saved both the kingdom and countless lives with your sacrifice."

Sitting back, the pharaoh looked up. "S-seti . . . "

Kaiba nodded, his eyes as soft as the spirit had ever seen them. "The kingdom – _your_ people – were saved that day. You have nothing to be ashamed of. _I_ will not allow it!" he added with a smirk that hinted at something deeper and very personal. He offered the spirit his hand.

The young pharaoh grinned and accepted, letting his former high priest pull him to his feet. He studied Kaiba for a long moment, then noticed Jonouchi's presence at last. "Jonouchi-kun, my friend . . . " With a smile of weary gladness, he held up his hand.

"Glad to have ya back, buddy," Jonouchi nodded with a lopsided grin, accepting the hand in a Duelist's clasp. He looked the spirit up and down, then laughed, "So this's what'cha actually look like, huh? Heh, you really _do_ look just like Yugi, like his older brother or somethin' – with a heck of a tan!"

The spirit looked down at his clothing and allowed himself a rueful chuckle. "Eh, yes and no, Jonouchi." He met the eyes of his former high priest and vizier, sharing a private humor with them. "I . . . I'm usually a little . . . tidier than this."

Jonouchi shrugged. "Eh, no worries. You're among friends, right?"

Yugi laughed. "That's right, Nakama! You don't need to impress us."

8 8 8 8 8

Jonouchi hesitated a moment, reading the same thoughts in Yugi's eyes as he himself entertained, but he could see that Yugi could not bring himself to speak them, afraid of hurting his partner by asking him to remember what obviously had been a traumatic event. Ah, well, nuts – _someone_ had to. Jonouchi might as well be the bad guy. Clearing his throat, he ventured, "So . . . what happened back then, anyway?"

He watched the spirit's eyes darken at that and, after a brief hesitation, the spirit shook his head. "The others are waiting outside, aren't they? Let's go. I will explain everything out there so that . . . I don't have to repeat myself."

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7 In the Name of the King

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 7 – In the Name of the King

_The corpse sinks to the floor.  
The vessel becomes sand, becomes dust.  
Even the brightest gold, even the sharpest sword  
Is wrapped in the sheath of time.  
Woe to the Pharaoh, for his body lacks even his name.  
This is the battlefield of souls.  
I cry the song of battle, the song of a friend.  
To the place far away where souls meet -  
Guide him._

The "Pert Kertu" – a prayer for the dead, as scribed on a funerary stone  
for the Nameless Pharaoh by his successor, cousin, and friend,  
the sorcerer High Priest Seti

"Ah! Hey, guys, they're waking up." Anzu pulled the others' attention back to the four unconscious forms. They had expected the blackouts, but it had worried them when, a moment later, it seemed as though Yugi were crying in his sleep.

Kaiba, Sugoroku, and Jonouchi were already sitting up by the time Yugi began to stir. Before his eyes were open, they could just hear him whisper under his breath, "No, they need to know you're okay." There was the briefest of pauses before he groaned, curling suddenly on his side with an arm up over his face as though the light of the room was too bright. Then, he sat up and met the collection of questioning gazes. "Ah . . . yo," the spirit murmured almost sheepishly. "I'm sorry to have worried you."

"Hey, Yugi! Welcome back!" Honda pulled him to his feet.

"Honda-kun!" Anzu admonished, her tone severe. "That's not his name!" She looked meaningfully at the necklace hung just above the Millennium Puzzle.

In curiosity, the spirit dropped his gaze to the cartouche, surprised that it was no longer blank. "Who . . . ?" He cupped it up in hand for closer inspection.

Bakura shook his head. "No one. The Puzzle flashed a second time when you returned, and that was just on there."

The spirit looked at the faces around him, reading the same thoughts, the same questions echoed over and over again, but no one could bring himself to be the one to voice them. What did the cartouche say? Was it his name? _What_ was his name? What had happened all those ages ago? He looked back down at the cartouche, and his fingers closed around it, gripping so tightly that the corners of the pedestal base bit into the flesh of his palm. He looked past his friends at the two stone murals, noticing something on the ground before them. There were three somethings, in fact, the three Egyptian God cards. He pushed to his feet and closed the distance to the murals. The rest pulled in around him as he bent to reclaim the cards.

"Hey, Y-yugi – ?" Mokuba ventured, his voice hesitant with the knowledge that it was the wrong name to use.

The spirit gave Mokuba a reassuring grin before turning to Kaiba. "You carved these, didn't you? I can feel your . . . _heka_, your magic, in them."

Kaiba nodded. "I did, less than a week later. I knew that one day you would return, and you would need something to guide you."

The spirit smiled to himself, then turned to the rest of the group. "Kaiba was once a sorcerer, one of the most powerful in the kingdom – "

"Second only to you," Kaiba interrupted with a tone between annoyance and genuine respect.

The spirit gave a low laugh. "Without you, I would not have had to push to get to the level I was."

"There could not be anyone who surpassed the pharaoh in power."

"You nearly did time and again."

"Nearly," Kaiba grunted, tone sour. Then, he sighed, letting it go. "It was inevitable, I guess. You were the son of the pharaoh, his only child. Eventually, you would take the throne – "

"Whereas you were free to do and become whatever you pleased," the spirit countered with the same tone of quiet jealousy. His gaze had not left the mural but at that, he turned and met Kaiba's eyes. "I really was glad for you when Father appointed you to the position of High Priest, especially at such a young age. You had more than earned it."

"Father?" Jonouchi chimed in.

The spirit nodded. "Pharaoh Akh-khnum-ka-nen. He appointed all six of the High Priests who bore the other Millennium Items. When the previous wielder died, High Priest Seti was chosen to be the new bearer of the Millennium Rod . . . which I see you have reclaimed," he added with a grin of mild humor. He nearly laughed when he saw Kaiba realize that it was in his hand, as though he had been so accustomed to its weight and feel in his grip that he had been completely unaware of having it.

Shadi had kept himself apart from the group during this entire exchange, but curiosity overrode his sense of privacy at last. "Great Pharaoh." The spirit turned to see Shadi knelt with his head touching the ground as befitted a servant addressing him. He found that it bothered him as before it never had. "Son of Ra, will you bless us with understanding of what happened three thousand years ago?"

Breaths were held as the spirit frowned at the question, horrific memories playing through his mind. He passed a hand over his face and drew a deep breath. His gaze found Bakura's only briefly, and he decided that there was no need to connect the boy to his ancient self's part in the tale. His eyes found Kaiba's and Sugoroku's, and they nodded. The bastard who started the whole war would remain anonymous in the present. "The story is a long one. Basically, there was a thief who tried to get his hands on all seven Millennium Items, although he was usurped by one of my own priests who succumbed to the lure of fell power promised by the dark force the thief had sought to release. That dark force was a creature called a Tervai, a greater demon, by the name of Zorc Necrophades." Even as he spoke the name, he could not completely suppress a shudder of horror. "He was also a so-called Shadow Master, and he sought the subjugation of all living things to him and his race. The doorway to do that was through Egypt and through the sorcerers of the Pharaoh – and the Millennium Items." Subconsciously, the spirit folded his arms in an effort to control the trembling he could feel beginning to overtake him and, for a long moment, he fell silent, struggling even still to come to grips with what had happened. He took a deep breath and forced himself to continue, feeling gentle consolation from Yugi within his heart.

He looked back up at Kaiba as he realized, "You must have been the only survivors – you and High Priestess Isis and . . . and Mahaad's apprentice, Mana." Kaiba only nodded. The spirit grinned softly as another thought occurred to him. "You must have succeeded me, too . . . " Again, Kaiba merely nodded, his face drawn and weary. The spirit gave his arm a supportive squeeze, then sighed as he turned to continue his narrative. "Th-the final battle . . . I don't know how many lives were lost . . . too many. My entire army fell – and most of my priests . . . Mahaad, Kalim, Shada . . . my eldest priest had already betrayed me." He did not speak the man's name. He would not, as the man had lost the honor of having a name when he acted against the pharaoh, his god-on-earth. Then, the spirit he caught Kaiba's eyes again as he corrected himself. "Betrayed us both." Kaiba seemed to stop breathing for just an instant, violent emotions crossing his visage in succession too rapid to follow. At length, he only swallowed and gave another, single nod.

The spirit continued. "Si-Amun used the Millennium Key to unlock his _ka_ beast Exodia, the Forbidden One . . . but even that one's great strength was not enough and his defeat . . . killed Si-Amun." The spirit would not meet Sugoroku's eyes, and the elderly gentleman laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. The spirit drew another shuddering breath before going on. "Those of us still standing were utterly spent. I knew that there was one spell left that I could cast. It was one my father himself had taught me, the most powerful of binding seals known among the spellcasters of the kingdom. One of Father's favorite sayings was that 'Justice is in the name of the king.' There were many ways to apply meaning to that – heh, and he taught me all of them – but one way was that a person's true name holds a power within it, a great power even if the individual is not a spellcaster. Because of my bloodline and training in the Arts, he knew that my name had power greater than anyone else's in the kingdom. He always told me to guard it well. I . . . I can't help but wonder if he foresaw Zorc's threat and knew that he would not live to face it himself. I think Mahaad tried to tell me something along those lines."

"Mahaad?" Honda prompted.

The spirit paused, then chuckled softly to himself and pulled out his and Yugi's Duel deck from the ever-present case on the back of his hip. He found one card in particular and gazed at it a long moment. "Monsters were once very real. Many were created by the hearts of the people, by their _ka_ or spiritual energy. Mahaad's _ka_ beast did not have a face, only glowing eyes in a shadowy cowl . . . until the day he tried to make up for perceived shortcomings by trying to take on the thief alone, without any backup." The hand not holding the Deck balled into a fist as the spirit glared at the figure on the top card in a new swell of grief. "So foolish, Mahaad! You should _never_ – !" He caught himself. "I understand why you did it, but . . . " He sighed. "I'm not sure exactly what he did, but I've heard of a great spell that spirit sorcerers can cast, combining their _ka_ with their _ba_ or eternal soul. When the stone slab was brought before me, it held a stylized depiction of Mahaad's Magus of Illusion, though it was now different somehow in appearance. It's . . . amazing, really, how Pegasus could happen to capture an exact likeness of a person from only stylized carvings." He turned the card out for the others to look at the face. "His hair was originally brown but . . . meet High Priest Mahaad, spirit sorcerer and bearer of the Millennium Ring." The card he held out for inspection was his signature Dark Magician.

Only gasps of shock initially answered his revelation. No one knew quite what to say. Even in his heart, the spirit could feel Yugi's surprise as well as empathetic grief for his loss. The spirit smiled inwardly, returning a sensation of reassurance. "Pegasus did not include it in his artwork, but there was an epitaph on the stone slab."

Sugoroku nodded. "'Pharaoh, my soul is your eternal servant'."

"Wow," Bakura breathed. "Well, that explains why you're so well known for the card. Dark Magician's rare but not unique, and yet, it's almost as though you're the _only_ one who has ever played one."

"Big-Brother!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Is it true? What about your Blue-Eyes White Dragon?"

Pain shot through Kaiba's eyes and he did not respond right away, but finally muttered a single word through a throat too tight to cooperate properly. " . . . Kisara . . ." From the look on his face, no one wanted to question further for the moment.

Anzu hesitated before prodding softly, "So, what about your name? You were telling us about a spell – ?"

Jonouchi nodded. "Yeah! Whatever happened ta that Zorc Necrophiliac?"

Kaiba shuddered and shot him a glare. "That's 'Necrophades', you idiot!"

The spirit either ignored or was too distracted to catch the unintentional play-on-words. He had put the Duel Deck away and held the Millennium Puzzle cupped up in both hands, tracing the seams along one side face with his thumb. "I had never understood why the Pharaoh's Item was the 'Millennium Weight,' an artifact in the form of an inverted-pyramid puzzle that was never broken down." He laughed suddenly, remembering, "My father was so angry when he caught me trying to take it apart one night when I was little. He said that it was never to be disassembled unless it was not meant to be put back together _ever_ again. I never understood its purpose until he bequeathed it to me on his deathbed. The greatest function of the Millennium Weight, the Millennium Puzzle . . . is that it's a supernatural prison. An entity bound within the Puzzle can only be released if the Puzzle is whole, for one thing, and the Puzzle _itself_ has a say over who can solve it."

The spirit drew a long, shuddering breath, gaze locked on the mystical artifact in his hands. "The greater Tervai demon Zorc Necrophades is locked away deep in the mystical space of this Puzzle, behind a seal created by my name and powered by the sacrifice of my _ka_, my life energies, so that my _ba_ is bound to the Puzzle . . . as his guardian, I guess," the spirit added ruefully. "When I cast the spell, I knew that it would require my life. I just didn't know that I would be joining him myself." He looked up suddenly, meeting the eyes of his dear friends, and added, "Not that I regret that! Please do not mistake me. I would not have met all of you if my _ba_ had been allowed to pass on. I just . . . I'm not sure what I am supposed to do from here."

Jonouchi laughed and chucked him on the arm. "Ah, c'mon! That's easy – ya stick around with us!"

"Heh, yeah," Honda rejoined with a grin. "I doubt Yugi'd mind sharing space in there with you for however much longer." Anzu just grinned, tears touching her eyes.

The spirit paused to listen to the joyful, enthusiastic voice in his heart, then chuckled, "No, Aibou says that he doesn't mind at all."

"Ah, got it." Bakura gave a self-congratulatory nod, seeming only half aware of the current conversation. At the questioning looks, he commented, "Oh! I'm sorry. I've been listening, but I've also been trying to remember my hieroglyphics. My dad taught me to read ancient Egyptian. I can read the cartouche. I know your name!" he beamed happily. "It's Atemu!"

As if in response, the massive rumble of an earthquake suddenly shook the museum to its foundation, and the spirit sensed something shatter deep within the Millennium Puzzle.

"No. Mighty Ra, have mercy – _n-no . . . !_"

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8 Shadow Master

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 8 – Shadow Master

_Think of us, and we'll be there in your heart forever.  
Sometimes when you're unsure, sometimes when you're afraid,  
At times, it's hard to live with the choices you have made.  
Turn around and we'll be there, always by your side._

"We'll Be There" – Yu-Gi-Oh!: Music to Duel By

"I know your name! It's Atemu!"

Without warning, a massive earthquake seemed to strike the city of Domino, Japan, shaking the museum to its foundation and throwing the entire company off its collective feet. The spirit gasped in horror as he felt the seal in the Puzzle shatter, a powerful and vile presence overwhelming his supernatural senses. Rough, throaty laughter – an unearthly sound straight from the depths of the Abyss – filled the small exhibit chamber.

-_At last! At last, I am free. Hahahahaaa – Oh, great Pharaoh, let us begin our game anew! You know where to find me. The tag is yours!_-

The fell, inhuman voice filled their minds, grating on the nerves and promising all the tortures of Hell if they dared to try their meager strength against it. Power exploded from the Puzzle in a tangible wave of pure evil that flattened the group further into the ground. With maniacal glee, that evil presence flooded out from its ancient prison, bursting light fixtures and setting off security alarms as it went.

As suddenly as it all started, the earthquake ended, the fell power having vanished without a trace. The companions slowly began to regather their wits and pick themselves back up off the ground – except for Bakura and the spirit, the latter of whom lay for a moment longer where he had been thrown, gaping in shuddering shock at the ceiling. "No. Mighty Ra, have mercy – _n-no . . . !_"

Jonouchi and Kaiba surged to their feet in the same instant, and it became a race as to who got to Bakura first. "Bakura, how _could_ you – ?" "_What. Have. You. __DONE?_"

Bakura did not respond right away, both hands clapped over his mouth, chocolate eyes wide with terror. A very small moan escaped him, followed by a nearly inaudible, "I-I'm s-s-sorry . . . "

That snapped the spirit out of his own horror as he hauled himself upright to go to his friend's rescue. "Jonouchi, Kaiba, no! Let him go! He could not have known." He pulled his friend bodily free of their deathgrips.

Bakura met the spirit's eyes, the soft brown of his own all but swallowed by the whites that showed against his pale face. "I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he stammered, frightened out of his mind by what he had felt.

Indeed, the spirit took pity on the young man. He could not deny that he might have reacted much the same, were he as completely unprepared to deal with such horrors as his friend. All of his training only barely prepared him the first time around as it was. It was solely the dire immediacy of the situation that had kept him on his feet long enough to do what had to be done back then. Had he lived long enough, remained sensate long enough, he felt that even he might have fallen apart after the fact, as reality sank in.

Evil god of darkness, greater demon, Tervai, Shadow Master . . . free once again. The spirit paled further. _Merciful gods of the Nile . ._ .

Bakura shivered under his hands, and the spirit pulled him into a comforting embrace, not sure what else to do for the moment. "I-it's all right, Bakura-kun. It's all right. You didn't know." He rubbed one hand in small circles across his friend's back.

"Wh-what _was_ that? Was that . . . w-was it . . . ?" Bakura could not bring himself to name it.

The spirit nodded, forcing his own voice as steady as he could manage. "The demon Zorc Necrophades." He felt Bakura's deep shudder of fear. On the floor behind his friend, in the absence of his brother's comfort, the spirit saw that Mokuba had found Anzu, all but crawling into her arms in fright, fighting back tears of reaction. Anzu held him tightly, though one could not tell if she were rocking him or herself, unfocused eyes staring at the carpeted floor. A sheet-white Honda was helping Sugoroku to his feet, who looked like it was a miracle that his pacemaker had not failed him. Jonouchi's eyes were closed, and Kaiba's were locked on the stone mural without really seeing it, a foul grimace twisting his face. Shadi was nowhere in sight. Within his heart, Yugi had yet even to evince a reaction, though the spirit suspected that it was more of an attempt to protect _him_ than anything. -_Aibou?_-

Yugi nodded. -_I-I'm okay, Nakama._- In spite of Yugi's valiant attempt to hide it, the spirit could feel that his partner was distinctly _not_ "okay."

Bakura returned the embrace tightly and, for a long moment, each of them drew strength and a sense of grounding from the other. The spirit closed his eyes, heartsick beyond bearing. They should not be dragged into this. They _could_ not! Once again, he would be the instrument to bring devastation upon his friends, just like in Battle City, only this time would be worse . . .

. . . _far_ worse . . .

"Hey, Atemu."

The spirit jumped at the utterance of his name, eyes snapping up to meet Jonouchi's, who pressed, "That's your name, right, your real name? Isn't that what Bakura said?"

He nodded dumbly, stricken by the sound of it. "Y-yes . . . yes, Jonouchi-kun. My father named me in honor of the god of the sun. 'Atemu' is a variant of the name for the great _Atum-Ra_."

"Atemu." Jonouchi nodded matter-of-factly. "All right, Atemu, so when do we leave? An', uh, where're we goin'?"

The pharaonic spirit, Atemu, only stared at him for a long moment, looking around as, one by one, the rest of the company recomposed themselves and silently rallied around him. Even Bakura gathered himself together and gently pulled back from Atemu's hold to meet his eye and nod in grim determination. Atemu found himself shaking his head. "No. My friends, no! I _cannot_ ask you – !"

"You don't have to," Honda countered, "and you're not leaving us behind."

"That's right!" Anzu rejoined. "Atemu-kun, we've been through everything together, and we'll deal with this, too!"

"Yeah, you're _not_ leavin' us behind. Ya got that, Atemu?" Jonouchi growled.

"Pharaoh, you cannot face this alone." That was Kaiba, speaking as the former High Priest still loyal to his young king, the Millennium Rod gripped in his hand with a fervor that would have bent a lesser metal.

"Don't call me that!" Atemu found himself crying out, backpedaling mentally and even physically. He caught his breath at his own vehemence, then explained, "I'm not '_the_ pharaoh,' not anymore. That position and title died ages ago. I am only Atemu . . . and I am no better than any of you." He had spent the past year-plus – since coming into his own – longing for recognition and acceptance for himself, to know that these were _his_ friends as well, personally, not just because he was part-and-parcel of accepting Yugi. Now that they knew and welcomed him, he could not bear the thought of being held separate from them because of a long-dead honorific that tried to imply he was some untouchable, holy god-in-flesh.

Kaiba crossed his arms with a challenging smirk. "Very well, then – not if I can help it, you're not."

"I welcome the return of my childhood friend and brother in the Arts," Atemu chuckled wearily. Then, he frowned. "However, this is not your fight. Seti, you fought it once already – "

Sugoroku scowled at him. " – and we were brought back to stand by your side to fight it again, my pharao – er . . . A-atemu."

"Besides," Kaiba ground out, "you forget that _I_ was Pharaoh, too – after you. I was the one who had to clean up the mess left by that _beast_ the last time. I'd rather head off the wake of bodies _before_ they start piling up this time."

Meaning, Atemu knew, that Kaiba felt as responsible as he did for not managing to defeat the monster decisively the last time.

"If nothing else," Mokuba ventured, "you can't _not_ take Yugi, so you might as well take everyone."

-_They're right,_- Yugi put in at last. -_We can't go alone. Heh, they won't _let_ us. You know that._-

Atemu scowled in his deep fear for his _aibou_, his Light. -_If it were at all possible, there would be no 'we' about it. I will not endanger you any more than I have to, Yugi._-

It was Yugi's turn to frown. -_Well, there _is_ no other way, and even if there was – Atemu-kun, I promised you that I would be your partner no matter what. I intend to _keep_ that promise! Whatever happens, we're in it together._-

Atemu hesitated a long moment, unable to respond. At length, he decided there was one thing that he did want to re-establish, if only for his own sake. It would also convey the point to his partner. -_Yugi, I . . . I have my true name back, but I . . . have grown rather fond of 'Nakama,' too . . . Aibou._-

Yugi grinned amicably. -_You'll always be my 'Nakama'._-

Atemu nodded both in gratitude and reluctance, then returned outward, where the rest were watching him in expectation. "All right . . . all right," he commented with a sigh, acknowledging their desires. "You're right. I could not deal with him before unassisted, nor can I just leave him loose to wreak his havoc. I must finish what I started but, as much as I _do not want_ to endanger any of you . . . I know full well that I cannot do it alone." He looked at Jonouchi, addressing his original questions. "We have to get to _Kemet_ – I mean, Egypt. There is a mystical portal there to a 'land beyond' that a few select sorcerers knew about. Having failed from this side to break the seal that holds back the rest of his kind, I suspect he will return to Egypt's sister, to Reirinsei. That is where we must go."

"The Millennium Stone that resided originally in Kul Elna was moved deep into your tomb, Atemu," Kaiba murmured, "along with the wall panel that purportedly was the Door of the Afterworld."

The Millennium Stone. The tablet fashioned to take all seven Items in its design, the forging mold that . . . Atemu shook his head, not willing to go there, and refocused on Kaiba. "The Door of the Afterworld will be our gate to Reirinsei."

"Egypt," Anzu whispered. "That's . . . a long way. How will we get there?"

"Mm . . . yeah." Jonouchi made a show of pondering the problem, stroking his chin with one hand. "That'll be a pretty bit of yen in airfare, won't it? It's not like some of us got private jets or nothin'." He eyed Kaiba sidelong.

"Hah, sure you do!" Mokuba asserted brightly. "Or, well, sorta – _we'll_ take everyone! Won't we, Big-Brother?"

Kaiba studied his young sibling for only a moment, then turned his attention back to the one who had been his close friend as a child in another lifetime. He nodded. "The Kaiba Corporation will get you to Egypt."

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	9. Chapter 9 Kemet

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 9 – Kemet

_The Puzzle! It has to be._

_ How many times over history has that golden box been pilfered from this place? How many people have tried to solve that Puzzle? As many have died as have dared to try, or so they say. And, mysteriously, the box disappears, returning here to await the one truly destined to solve it._

_ "Now go! Show me where it's safe to step!"_

_ With a growl, I look back over my shoulder at my "guide" who now holds a gun to me. "Look, just . . . don't let your _guard_ down."_

_ My gaze drops for a moment to the carven slabs beneath my feet – five panels set along a bridge of stone spanning a black void. The likeness of an imaginative monster is engraved into the surface of each slab, one more terrible than the last. My mind goes back to the epitaph of hieroglyphics on the wall outside of this room. "The Ka sealed in the stone slabs shall judge you. The cowardly will be eaten by demons. The courageous will be shown the way." What can that mean?_

_ I stand on the border between the fourth and fifth slabs. A few more steps . . . A few more steps and I'll conquer the Shadow Games!_

KA-BANG!

_ The crack of a gun shatters the silence, the echo ricocheting off the ageless walls into the endless blackness above and below. With it, agony explodes through the top of my left shoulder. The force of the shot throws me off my feet, and I am falling. I manage to catch the edge of the bridge with my good hand as the traitorous bastard passes me overhead._

_ "See you in hell." His chuckling turns almost maniacal. "Heh, heh . . . the gold!" _

_I try to pull myself up but, with the wound, I have not the strength._

_There is a rumbling. An earthquake?_

_ "Wh-what . . . ? What's going on?"_

_I hear terror in his voice. I am below and cannot see, but I listen as his protest degrades instantly into wild shrieks as the snarl of an unknown horror drowns him out. I watch in sick terror as his forgotten torch throws shadows on the wall behind me, revealing a monster risen from the top surface of the bridge itself to grab and noisily devour the traitor._

'The cowardly will be eaten by demons . . . '

_As suddenly as it took form, the demon vanishes, its punishing task complete._

. . . I made it so far . . .

_My fingers slip another fraction of an inch, my hand's strength slowly failing._

Is this the end . . . ?

_What is this? Someone is standing over me on the bridge. The traitor? No, can't be – I saw him eaten. Well, indirectly._

'The courageous will be shown the way . . .'

_A ghost! It must be! There is no color to him but shades of silver-grey even in the yellow torchlight and I can almost see through his cloak billowing on a breeze that does not exist in this world, not in the still, musty air of the ancient tomb. He kneels, reaching out a hand to me, thick, almost star-shaped hair crowning his head, and I can see his face._

"I've been waiting . . . Si-Amun . . . "

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

He awoke with a gasp, his struggle to pull back up onto the bridge instead toppling him the rest of the way off the bench. "Y-yugi!"

"Grandpa?"

"Grandfather, are you all right?"

"Mutou-Grandfather!"

Sugoroku looked up at the worried faces around him: Yugi, Anzu, and Mokuba. "Wh-where am I?"

"Are you okay, Grandpa?" Yugi fussed. "You were moaning in your sleep. It sounded terrible!"

"On Kaiba Corp's Seven-One-Alpha," Mokuba offered. "We're on our way to Egypt, remember?"

Sugoroku could hear and feel the muted, rumbling vibration in the floor beneath him. Ah, yes, now he remembered. They were on Kaiba's split-level luxury jet. He had laid down for a nap in the lounge on the upper deck. That dream . . . a memory over thirty years old . . .

"Grandpa?" Yugi pressed, giving his shoulder a light shake.

"Oh! Sorry. Yes, Yugi, I'm fine. I was . . . just remembering something that happened a number of years ago."

"It must have been awful," Anzu worried.

Sugoroku shrugged, unwilling to let the memory bother him. "Not completely. If it had not happened, Yugi wouldn't have this." He jabbed a thick finger at the Puzzle.

8 8 8 8 8

"You're talking about the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh." Yugi nodded. For years when he was a child, Yugi had begged his grandfather to tell him what had happened – he knew there had to be a fantastic story behind the gaining of the mysterious, golden box – but, unlike most other stories of his adventures from his days as a globe-trotting adventurer and gambler, Sugoroku would never tell him that one, believing him too young for such a tale. Eventually, Yugi stopped asking. Years later, he solved the Millennium Puzzle and ever since had been too busy with the present to remember to ask again.

Sugoroku nodded, lips pursing in thought. "With the Puzzle no longer in residence, I wonder if the forces of the Shadow Games will still be in place."

"Shadow Games?" Mokuba echoed.

Anzu grimaced. "Yeah . . . like the crazy stuff we were seeing during the Battle City Finals."

"The traps protecting the Nameless Pharaoh's Tomb were animated by the energies of some powerful Shadow Games – "

"So do we still call it the 'Nameless' Pharaoh's Tomb?" Honda wanted to know, speaking up from the door of the lounge. "After all, he isn't 'nameless' anymore. I know _I_ wouldn't want people to keep calling me that – eh, Atemu-_sama_?" He cocked an eyebrow at Yugi, teasing the spirit within.

Yugi absently fingered the cartouche pendant as he turned inward for a moment, then laughed. "He wants to know if we're getting tired of working his name into every other comment."

Honda shrugged, grinning, and leaned on the doorjamb with his arms folded. "What? Is _he_ getting tired of hearing it already?"

Before Yugi could respond, Kaiba's voice sounded over the intercom, another voice murmuring in the background to Air Traffic Control. "Listen up, everyone. There's been a change of plans. A sandstorm has closed Luxor Airport so we're heading to Cairo International, instead. We'll be landing within the next ten minutes but there's a lot of turbulence, so get back to your seats and buckle up now because final approach is about to get interesting – "

Just then, the jet seemed to drop several feet and buck a little to one side. The sudden motion threw Sugoroku off the bench into Yugi and Mokuba. From the level below, they could hear Jonouchi snarl in shock, "_'About to'_? Thanks for the advanced warnin' there, Kaiba!"

"Quit barking and buckle up," Kaiba snapped. "Mokuba – ?"

"Coming, Big-Brother!" Mokuba helped Yugi pull Sugoroku to his feet, then gave a jestful salute. "Gotta go. Gonna see if Big-Brother and Hamada need a hand in the cockpit. Later!"

The group joined Jonouchi and Bakura, who had already strapped themselves down. The next few minutes vaguely reminded Yugi of a child's roller coaster – not violent, per se, but bumpy enough to raise concerns. Then, it was over, and Kaiba slid the jet down for a smooth landing, settling the craft into a private section of the airport. With docking and maintenance left to the Kaiba Corp. co-pilot, Hamada, the company gathered what baggage they had brought along, descended the wheeled staircase pressed to the plane's side, and crossed the baking tarmac under the midday sun of Egypt's desert heat, grateful to enter the air-conditioned building.

Yugi gazed about in intense interest at the people around him. With the dubious exception of Duelist Kingdom Island, he had never been outside of Japan. The language buzzing around him intrigued him as much as the exotic locale, and he found himself listening closely, trying to pick out meanings from the gestures and inflections of the speakers. It was a form of puzzle, after all – a riddle of words, gestures and interactions. He did the same with American and British movies from time to time, when the dialogue flowed by too fast for his poor English comprehension to follow but no subtitles were available. It was just another game to him, and he had gotten rather good at reading the intended meanings behind unintelligible sounds.

Two figures stood out to him from the crowds, much to Yugi's surprise. He recognized Malik and Rishid, who only days before had been seeking his and Atemu's lives. Freed now of the misunderstanding and the darkness that had surrounded the other's heart, Yugi thought that there was a positive bounce to Malik's gait as he strode through the airport, still a little overwhelmed by the world outside of the dark catacombs in which he and his clan had dwelled since ancient times, disallowed any contact with the outside world. At sixteen, Malik was truthfully only a year younger than he, but Yugi shared a private chuckle with Atemu at the "kid-in-a-candy-store" enthusiasm with which Malik seemed to meet every sight and sound around him.

Rishid spotted the group first, a gentle hand on his little brother's shoulder directing Malik to them as well. Trepidation replaced excitement as Malik's eyes found Yugi's, but he strode forward without hesitation. Jonouchi spotted them at about same time, and his reaction seemed to help put Malik at ease. "Hey, hey! Look, guys! It's Namu. How's it goin', buddy? What's up, Rishid?" Because of the all-too-recent past, Jonouchi could not bring himself to call him "Malik," there being simply too bad a taste in his mouth at the name he had known and hated long before he could put a face to it.

Malik grinned at the use of the false name he had once given Jonouchi and Anzu, relieved that the former seemed truly willing to look past the atrocities he had visited upon him and his friends. Reaching the group, Malik accepted Jonouchi's hand in a warm clasp. "Jonouchi, everyone! It is so good to see you all again, and so soon! Welcome to Egypt!" He laughed brightly as Rishid took a playful punch to the chest from the former street punk, both of them happy to see everyone.

"It's really great to be here, Namu-kun, Rishid-kun." Yugi deliberately used the name as well, if only because Malik had told them that it was okay, that in fact he preferred as well that they use it. Yugi accepted handshakes from both men. "I think you guys have met everyone already, except for my grandfather. Grandpa, this is Namu-kun and Rishid-kun."

Sugoroku bowed with proper Japanese etiquette before shaking each one's hand. "Yes, Yugi has told me all about you." He had finally gotten the complete story during the hours-long flight here. "It is a pleasure to meet you both. But . . . what brings you here? Did you know that we would be arriving?"

"Yeah! I thought Ishizu couldn't tell the future anymore without that necklace," Mokuba laughed.

Rishid shook his head. "Shadi returned, leaving Japan ahead of you to inform us of your pending arrival. When we learned of Luxor's closing, we knew you would have to come here. Ishizu secured your flight information from one of her contacts."

Honda nodded. "Great! Sounds like you guys have everything under control!"

Kaiba merely folded his arms. "Then you know where we need to go from here."

Rishid met his eye without flinching. "Yes. Will you follow me?"

Yugi did so, letting the gang know that he and Atemu trusted them without question or hesitation.

The company crossed the airport and out to a small shuttle which took them to a harbor on the Nile. There, Ishizu stood on the gangplank of a luxurious riverboat. "Greetings and welcome, my pharaoh, my friends. Please, come aboard and make yourselves at home. The trip to the Valley of the Kings will take several hours."

"Wow! Talk about a royal treatment!"

Kaiba glanced sidelong at Bakura, but even he appreciated the rich mode of transportation.

Malik grinned down at Yugi, who did not miss the wince beneath the humor. "Nothing but the best, fit for a pharaoh, after all. And there is no cost to any of you, of course – courtesy of our clan."

Yugi nodded. "This really is great, Namu-kun! Thanks a lot!" Malik's grin widened.

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	10. Chapter 10 Destined

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 10 – Destined

The voyage down the Nile was scenic and uneventful, the peace broken only by the retelling of the pharaoh's tale. Atemu took over their body to tell the story himself, and Malik could only shake his head in empathy and regret by the end. "And after all of that . . . I still wish there was something I could do to make up for all that I've done, Pharaoh Atemu." He bent his head in respect.

Atemu cupped his chin, gentle even as he guided the other with a firm hand to look up and meet his eye. "Live out under the sun as a free man, Malik Ishtahl, you and your people with you. That is all that I ask. That – " He paused with a shake of his head and a grin. " – and not to call me Pharaoh anymore. I am just Atemu."

"Yeah," Jonouchi laughed. "He won't let us call him that, either!"

"Not like you would anyway," Honda rejoined.

"Whatever!"

Malik gazed back for a moment in stunned silence, finally managing to nod. "You are too kind." Atemu only shrugged with a nod of his own, though he could feel a hint of self-consciousness color his cheeks.

Ishizu mulled the story over. "And so Zorc Necrophades has returned to Egypt – to go to this other land, you say?"

Malik shuddered, the reaction racking his frame to the core. "I was there yesterday morning when something vile swept through the passages of the pharaoh's tomb. I felt a terrible power and saw a flash of light from beyond the alter chamber, but when I went to investigate, it was gone."

"Yesterday 'morning'?" Honda startled. "We had to wait until after school to go to the museum. It was probably three in the afternoon."

Kaiba managed not to roll his eyes. "Differences in time zones, Honda."

"Remember, Egypt is seven hours behind Japan," Sugoroku commented.

At the same time, Rishid was shaking his head. "The scriptures don't speak of another land."

"Yes, actually, they do," Malik corrected softly. "There is a Place Beyond that is named but only in one passage. 'Upon the Pharaoh's sacrifice, the magical cobra who was his companion returned to the land of its fathers, the land of Reirinsei.' It's always been believed to be a section of the Underworld."

Sugoroku was shaking his head, but Atemu's deep gasp of shock interrupted him. "_Nicodemus!_" Ancient gods, how could he have forgotten?

Kaiba grunted, apparently remembering. "Yes, that was his name. That asp you carried around with you practically everywhere."

Anzu almost giggled. "You had a pet snake?"

"No, I did not." Atemu's voice was rough as he leaned forward, elbows propped on his thighs, staring with unseeing eyes at the carpet. "Nicodemus was no pet. He was . . . my friend, and one of my mentors as a child. He was of a race of creatures known as Inriomai."

Sugoroku laid a gentle hand on Atemu's arm. "He must have survived, then, if there is talk of his returning home." Atemu nodded mutely, and Sugoroku turned to Kaiba. "Do you remember the former pharaoh's falcon?"

"Balendin, yes. I remember him. When Pharaoh Akh-khnum-ka-nen passed beyond, his hunting falcon was slaughtered in place of one of the temple cats to be mummified and entombed with him as his guide to the Afterlife."

Sugoroku shook his head. "No, Seti. That was the explanation that was given, but in truth he was not killed by the priests. He suffered the same fate as many pharaohs' companions before him. Balendin died when the pharaoh did . . . because they shared a soul."

"The Inriomai were probably one of the best-kept secrets in all of Egypt, dating back through countless dynasties." Atemu sat back and ran a hand through his hair, trying to remember his lessons. "Originating from Reirinsei, Inriomai were fashioned by the gods to look like their 'dumb animal' brethren, but they possessed human intelligence and the capability for speech. Every Inriomai is destined to Impress to someone, to join with that person in body, mind, and spirit. It's something they're born longing for, like a child longing for its parents' affection and approval. Once Impressed, the two become inseparable, as one in every way imaginable without losing their sense of self."

"Rather like you and Yugi, eh?" Bakura put in.

"Actually, Aibou and I are almost the exact opposite, in that we are two souls in one body. The Inriomai and his Inrie, the one Impressed to him, come to share a single soul across two bodies, though they retain their mental independence from one another. My father was Impressed to Balendin and, when he died, so did the falcon." Atemu pulled a deep breath before continuing. "Nicodemus was an Inriomai in the form of an Egyptian cobra, and he recognized me as his Destined when I was still very small. We . . . never did get the chance to Impress. At first, I was too young. An Inrie goes through a period of severe disorientation as he tries to incorporate the senses, thoughts, the very mind of another being into and alongside his own. A wrong move mentally during the Impression itself can kill both Inriomai and Inrie, and my father felt I was not yet ready for such an undertaking, even in spite of the discipline demanded by my Mystic Arts training. In fact, it was partly too because I _was_ only still in training. Then, Father died. I was barely twelve, and then . . . I had a whole new set of responsibilities to deal with. Nicodemus, Vizier Si-Amun – " He glanced at Sugoroku. " – and I decided to wait until things settled down a little."

Atemu shook his head in sorrow. "I made him wait. For four years, he waited patiently, but the time was never right. I . . . I suppose I was afraid. Should anything happen to me, I did not want him to pay as well. Then, one day, I sent him away. When that thief showed up and we started evacuating people from the palace and surrounding city, I ordered my mother's handmaiden to take him with her. I . . . don't know what would have happened to him if we had been Impressed when I cast the final spell that I did."

"Poor thing probably died of old age a million years ago, huh?" Jonouchi was trying to be sympathetic, so Anzu's elbow in his ribs surprised him. "Huh? _What?_"

"Idiot." Honda bopped the back of Jonouchi's head from where he stood behind the sofa.

Atemu shrugged. "Who knows? I seem to remember Nicodemus telling me once that an un-Impressed Inriomai could live to be three thousand to thirty-five hundred years old. He was only four or five decades old when – . . . mmm, back then."

"You really miss him, don't you?" Mokuba murmured. Atemu gave him a small smile. "I have a pet snake. He's not an In . . . In-reeoh-my, but he's really pretty, and friendly. Hey, when we get back to Japan, why don't you come over some time, and I'll show you!"

Atemu laughed softly. "I'd like that, Mokuba. Thank you."

Ishizu stood. "It has been a long journey for all of you. A table with food has been laid out on the upper deck, and rooms have been arranged should you wish to rest until we get there."

"What? Ho, now you're talkin' my language!"

"Not before me, you're not!"

"Hey, guys! Wait up!" Bakura darted after Jonouchi and Honda, not bothering to pull the door closed behind him.

"Like a pack of puppies at the dinner bell." Kaiba shook his head in annoyance.

"Well, actually, Big-Brother . . . I'm pretty hungry, too!" Mokuba flashed a big smile in pseudo-apology. "Catch you guys later!"

Ishizu turned soft eyes on Atemu. "And you?"

"Atemu?" Anzu started quietly.

Atemu had shifted forward again, half-lost in thought. He studied the floor for a moment longer, then stood with a smile of assurance that did not quite touch his eyes. A shadow of uncertainty darkened them instead as he met Ishizu's gaze. "You said that you had rooms available?"

Rishid stood, stepping toward the door. "I will take him, Ishizu. Come." Atemu nodded his gratitude and followed, not meeting the momentary questioning, concerned gazes of those he left behind. As the door closed behind him, he just caught Malik begging more information on ancient Egypt from the reincarnated adviser and priest, while Ishizu asked in a low chuckle how long it had been since Anzu had spent some "girl time" with anyone, away from "the boys."

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	11. Chapter 11 Fear

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 11 – Fear

On another deck, Rishid opened the door into a stately suite, Yugi's luggage already present. Atemu crossed the room to admire the view out the wide portholes, his eyes finding the shores of his homeland there at the edge of the timeless Nile, mere meters it seemed from where he stood. Lost in thought, he flinched in mild surprise when Rishid asked, "Can I have anything brought for you, or for . . . eh, for Yugi?"

Atemu turned and shook his head with a small smile. "No, thank you very much, Rishid." Rishid bowed and withdrew, closing the door behind him, and Atemu shifted again to gaze out one of the circular windows.

Yugi emerged to manifest and stand by his partner's side. He confused Atemu a bit when he uttered a phrase in English. _-/A penny for your thoughts?/-_

Via Yugi's understanding of the foreign language, Atemu comprehended the individual words, and yet the comment did not quite make sense to him. Still, it accomplished what Yugi had intended when Atemu grinned as he cocked an eyebrow to his dear friend. "I'm sorry, Aibou – a what for my . . . ?"

Yugi laughed. -_Ah, it basically means I'd be willing to pay to know what you're thinking._- He, too, had been gazing out a porthole, but he twisted slightly to glance up sidelong through blonde bangs.

Atemu allowed a chuckle of his own, honestly amused even as he tried to sound lighter than he truly felt, teasing, "Are my thoughts worth so little, Aibou? Or do you mean a coin other than the smallest denomination of the U.S. monetary system?"

Yugi shrugged. -_It's an American saying. I don't know why they would offer so little._- He grinned again suddenly. -_How about three thousand yen, then? One for each year since . . . _- His voice trailed off as he realized that there was no sensitive way to refer to one's time of mortal death. He turned back to gaze out the window, embarrassed and regretful that he had brought it up.

Atemu thought he remembered the conversion formula from one of Yugi's math classes in school. Still teasing, he pointed out, "That would still only work out to about twenty-six U.S. dollars – though that _is_ twenty-six-hundred times better than that original penny you offered."

Yugi only shrugged sheepishly, grinning as a hand went to the back of his head. -_Well, I guess something's better than nothing, right? Besides, Grandpa and I forgot to handle my paycheck for this month before we left home, what with the rush to get here and all._-

"And what use has a spirit for money, anyway?" Atemu queried. He shook his head with another laugh, even more genuine this time at the absurd thought.

They stood in silence for a moment longer before Yugi ventured, -_So . . . what _are_ you thinking about, Nakama?_-

Atemu all but held his breath as he formulated an answer. Brotherly instincts had long kicked in, and he did not want to unduly scare or worry Yugi, but he did owe his partner full understanding what it was they would face. He could put on a brave front for the others, but he could only hide so much from Yugi. Leaning forward to brace against the sill of the porthole, Atemu relented briefly to the trembling he had fought until now to deny. His chin tucked, eyes closing, and his voice was a little rough as he admitted, "I am . . . a-afraid, Aibou. Deliberately, I have not given the others much detail on Zorc and his race. Having just a hint of his vile strength and ferocity is enough to turn anyone's blood cold. I almost could not defeat him before. To be honest, I didn't – not truly. I only held him at bay . . . and he is by no means the most powerful of his kind."

-_ . . . Nakama . . . _-

Atemu punched the wall next to the porthole in fright-born aggravation and despair. "_HOW!_ How do I defeat him? His power is greater than mine ever was. We have all the Millennium Items again but not enough people to wield them. I have no doubt Kaiba and Grandpa will reclaim the Rod and the Key. I have – _we_ have," he corrected with reluctance, "the Millennium Puzzle . . . but that still leaves four Items unattended. From his long association with the thief's spirit, Bakura _might_ be able to manage the Ring, if any of that expertise leaked through their bond . . . but, no. I cannot – I _will_ not – ask such a thing of Bakura. He has suffered enough as it is." Atemu heaved a deep sigh, his mind run hopelessly out of options. "No one else is trained to properly use the _heka_ of the Millennium Items! To even attempt to do so would incinerate the one who tries, his soul literally combusting from the inside out! I know . . . I witnessed it once, when I was much younger." Atemu shook his head, shuddering at the terrible memory. "Now we leave known territory altogether, journeying to another land I only heard tales of in lessons from my tutors of old, and would never have believed in at all if not for the fact of a talking snake!"

Atemu turned then to face fully his partner. "Yugi, I do not know all the specifics, but Pegasus was right when he said that there was an evil power and intelligence hidden within the Millennium Items. The _intention_ with which they were created was for Good, to protect the kingdom from her powerful enemies . . . but by nature, the Millennium Items harbor a great and terrible Evil. My father, Pharaoh Akh-khnum-ka-nen, authorized the creation of the Items as described in an arcane spellbook no one could read until one of his High Priests stepped forth saying that _he_ could decipher it – the same one who would later betray me." Atemu scowled darkly for a moment before continuing. "The kingdom was under such threat of falling to darkness that, after some debate, my father permitted the priest to perform the ritual that would forge the mystical artifacts. What my father did not know . . . was that the ritual demanded the blood sacrifices of ninety-nine human lives."

-_S-sacrifice!_- Yugi gasped, appalled.

Atemu nodded, momentarily at a loss for words. "F-father . . . when my father found out what he had authorized, it horrified him. In fact, it devastated him so much that it . . . it killed him. He had such an incredible heart for his land and his people. That, if nothing else, is the one thing I remember of my father – his love. He fell ill and . . . That was a little over four years ago – or rather, four years before Zorc. As I mentioned earlier, I was twelve."

8 8 8 8 8

Yugi waited in empathizing silence for Atemu to gather his thoughts again, pushing back the grief of a loss of his own suddenly brought to the fore with Atemu's talk of his father. _What a coincidence_, Yugi could not help thinking. He had been seven when he lost _his_ father to lethal illness – not exactly the same age, but still . . .

"My father and the six priests he elected to be Item Wielders with him used the artifacts with the intention of Good, for peace and justice . . . but that was _not_ their base purpose. Their creation together was so that they could be keys in unlocking Zorc from his prison in the Afterworld, who then could turn around and free the rest of his kind. The means to do so must have been destroyed back in my time, and so he has returned to Egypt's sister, which is where I think he hailed from originally, before he was sealed in the Afterworld by the gods." Atemu glanced sidelong at his partner in something akin to apology, and shrugged. "Or that's the story my mentors told me. I remember now hearing of the mythical battle between _Usir_ and Zorc, before _Setekh_ killed him." Yugi frowned at him in some confusion. More and more, Atemu had started flip-flopping between modern and ancient names and references ever since the trip to the museum. He could guess and follow them most of the time – he knew "Seti" was Kaiba and "Si-Amun" his grandpa – but there were some instances when Atemu lost him altogether.

8 8 8 8 8

Atemu knew that he kept slipping, using words his partner could not possibly know, and it reminded him all the more that he did not belong to this time and place. "Sorry, Aibou. You would know them by the names they . . . " He thought for a moment, trying to remember the books he had read on late nights from time to time, after Yugi had finished homework and let the spirit take control to learn more of his own country's rich history. "The names of the gods as they are known now must have come out of the later Greek influence, several centuries after my lifetime. The names themselves sound like they are Greek in origin, at any rate." He refocused. "Osiris and Set. Anyway, stories already ancient when I was a child tell of a conflict between the great _Usir_ – that is, Osiris – and a malevolent beast from the Place Beyond that tried to destroy _Ma'at_, the Order of Creation. _Usir_ imprisoned him in _Duat_, the Afterworld or the Underworld, depending on how you choose to translate that. They refer to the same place."

He thought again for a moment. "Do you remember the Door that Seti men– " He caught himself and sighed. "Sorry, Aibou – that _Kaiba_ mentioned having been moved to my tomb?" Yugi nodded. "I do not know what has become of the original portal. It was in my palace in the capital, _Waset_ . . . eh, 'Thebes' is the name the later Greeks gave it, if I'm not mistaken. We haven't time to excavate my palace." Atemu's tone kept his tone matter-of-fact even as he knew that Yugi had shared his heart and soul for too long to miss the wince of quiet grief and inexpressible loss. Atemu pulled a breath and plowed on. "I remember seeing the Door Kaiba mentioned when Shada and I were in the shrine in Kul Elna. It's the Door through which the thief released Zorc. I have been thinking about that. Kaiba and I – Seti and I – may be able to, eh, 're-magic' the Door, shift its mystical focus from the Underworld to Reirinsei. I remember some of the spells scribed on the original portal. And then . . . " Atemu's voice trailed off, the trembling threatening to overtake him once again as his mind returned to the task before him.

Yugi placed an ethereal hand over Atemu's, where both gripped the porthole frame once again. A small gasp escaped Atemu, amethyst snapping to amethyst. Yugi managed a smile, mentally gathering in the wisps of doubt, uncertainty and fear that leaked from Atemu's control to curl down their bond. -_It's okay, Nakama. It's all right to be afraid. You wouldn't be human if you weren't. But you're not alone. You don't have to face him alone. You have all of us._-

Atemu's chin tucked further, unsuccessful in his attempts to turn aside the memory of overwhelming hate, rage, cruelty and raw power that had flowed from the demon, or his own helpless terror in the face of it. At the time, everything had happened so fast. The thief managed to gather all seven Items, placed them in the Millennium Stone that had forged them, and freed Zorc – and wound up giving his life in the process and finding himself imprisoned in the Millennium Ring, the first Item he had secured when he killed Mahaad, and therefore bonded with from the start. Atemu and his priests and soldiers had already long been in battle-mode when Zorc made his appearance. There was no time for fear or questioning, for doubt or uncertainty, only for action. Reaction would have to wait until later.

Later was now. Atemu knew full well what he faced and had the time, too much time, to dwell on that knowledge. He was deathly frightened. He could not deny that. He could turn the questions aside in a group, focus on the more immediate concerns – getting to the tomb, navigating the traps, casting the spells – but in the quiet, alone but for Yugi, he could not escape the horror that had been threatening to overtake him since yesterday when a supernatural earthquake had thrown him to the ground like a rag doll. Nothing in the past two years – the foes, the Duels, the Shadow Games – nor even anything in his ancient training as the talented young sorcerer he once had been . . . none of his knowledge and experience to date amounted to the skill and power he would need if he truly thought to have a chance against that ancient force of pure demonic Evil. And his friends . . .

"I'm afraid I am only leading you and the others to certain death, Aibou, that – " His words choked off.

Yugi slipped ghostly arms around his own body and his closest friend's shuddering spirit. -_We don't know that, Nakama. Let's just get to Reirinsei, first. Then we can re-evaluate the situation. Everything will be all right. We'll see this through, just like we always have._-

Atemu forced himself to relax even as he appreciated the astral arms that embraced him. "I've lost everyone I know and love once already, Yugi. I . . . couldn't bear to go through that pain again."

Yugi just held him tighter, having no answer, as Atemu relented for a time to the emotions he had fought to hide now for too long.

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	12. Chapter 12 Tomb of the NewlyNamed Phara

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 12 – The Tomb of the Newly-Named Pharaoh

_And so I return . . . gods of the Pharaohs, forgive me_.

Sugoroku looked across the barren terrain, taking in a sight he had not laid eyes on in over thirty years. He knew he could not have found again on his own what he sought, even with his restored memories. The guides whom he had hired three decades ago were both dead, perished of their own dark hearts in the Shadow Games that protected the tomb. He nudged his camel forward ahead of the others behind Malik's confident lead, pulling up beside his grandson.

"So . . . eh, just whom should I be addressing, actually, before I say too much?" he teased in a low voice, leaning over a bit across the space between mounts. The rich, confident chuckle told him that Atemu was in charge.

"Has the valley changed much since you were here last?"

"Truthfully, no – not the past _few_ times."

Dark amethyst eyes shifted to meet the old man's. "Do you remember the layout of the tomb and its traps? You designed and oversaw its construction, after all."

Sugoroku allowed a small grin. Speaking of and even entering one's own tomb, especially were one the Pharaoh, was not once such a strange concept as today, but as accepted as the subject of seasonal floods, the fall of night, or the daily needs of running a kingdom. Yet, there was something in the look and tone that reminded Sugoroku that Atemu had also existed for over two years without that experience, that his thoughts were confused more than a little by the modern-day "sensibilities" with which Yugi had been raised – that it was common practice to honor the deceased and visit their graves on certain holidays, but not to actually disturb their eternal resting places, nor delve too deeply into the supernatural crossroads that lead to the Underworld. He himself was struggling with that same confusion. "I remember it well, and Namu knows the way also, Atemu-san. Our passage should be without incident."

"So long as we follow your lead _precisely_?" Atemu murmured with a chuckle, no doubt recalling Sugoroku's tale of his last visit to the tomb, and the fates of his thieving guides. The old man had recounted that story over dinner, before the cruise ship reached its final port, about an hour's ride behind them.

"For you, passage may be all the easier. No doubt the powers in force will recognize you. It is _you_ whom they are supposed to be protecting, after all," Sugoroku added with a jestful wink.

Atemu only gave a single, mute nod, his eyes returning to the path ahead of them.

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

"Here we are!" Malik slid from his camel's back, feet padding lightly into the sandy floor of the ravine. They had followed the twisting canyon for over a half-hour, working their way deep into this section of the valley. The ravine walls met ahead of them in a dead-end, a small carven doorway piercing the crevice of rock at its base. The rest of the company dismounted as well, shouldering packs and lighting torches. In addition, Kaiba carried his ever-present briefcase, which earned him several looks and headshakes of amusement or annoyance from the rest of the group.

Pulling a breath, Atemu tightened the straps of Yugi's backpack over his shoulders and stepped up by Malik's side. "Let's get this over with."

Only Malik was close enough to catch the faint tremor of buried fear in the other's voice. He glanced sidelong but said nothing, reading the hardness in amethyst eyes, the stiffness of posture that bespoke how Atemu would do what must be done no matter what, just as he had always done. Malik nodded and led the way.

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

Atemu did not look as Yugi manifested beside him at the entrance. -_This is it. The Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh . . . _-

Atemu nodded, not breaking stride as he kept up with Malik at the head of the company, plunging into the suddenly cooler air of the tomb.

The passage beyond the door was a straight-shot corridor that led in and down at a shallow angle, the walls painted with hieroglyphic text and richly-colored scenes of daily life, both royal and common.

Bakura brushed a hand lightly over the painted carvings, awed. "These must be portions of the Pyramid Texts. My father's told me about them . . . "

"Thirty meters," Sugoroku murmured. "There are no traps until we reach the antechamber." Malik nodded in affirmation.

They were halfway down the passage when several sudden shrieks from right behind had Atemu spinning around in instant defense mode, dropping into a battle-ready crouch.

The entire rest of the company stood staring in utter shock at him. _No_, Atemu realized as he straightened. _Not at me . . . at Aibou!_

Yugi, translucent in his spirit form beside his own pharaoh-possessed body, gazed back at his friends in wonder. [_Y-you . . . can _see_ me?_]

The group jumped again, and it was Jonouchi who found his voice first, after another instant. "Eh . . . y-yeah. Hear ya too, apparently."

"Y-you . . . just kinda . . . suddenly appeared," Mokuba breathed.

"Must be the Shadow power that dwells within this place," Rishid commented, he and his siblings no less amazed than the rest.

Several pairs of eyes jumped back and forth in speculation between Yugi's spirit and his body. If they could see Yugi outside of the body, would Atemu be similarly visible if the two traded places? After all, only Yugi and now briefly Jonouchi, Kaiba, and Sugoroku had ever truly seen what Atemu looked like, the rest only able to interact with him when he possessed Yugi.

Atemu looked at his partner, who grinned with an amicable shrug. [_I don't mind if you don't_.]

Atemu laughed. "Well, it is _your_ body, Aibou. You do have first say." He paused, then nodded with a shrug of his own. Besides, perhaps it would be best for him to present himself in his purest form here. If Grandpa was right and this place might recognize him . . .

Yugi faded back inside, and they switched places, Atemu emerging an instant later. For the first time since the Puzzle's solving, he stood manifested by his partner's side – nearly a full head taller, his skin once again as light, dressed in matching attire – and his friends turned their eyes to gaze at him, able to see him at last. He did not realize until that moment just how deeply he had longed for that. For the first time, he stood among them, as himself separate from Yugi, and was not cut off from them. Tears pricked the backs of his eyes.

Anzu stepped up before him, her eyes studying every detail of the face of this one she had loved for so long. "You . . . you look just like him." Atemu guessed that she had not meant to speak that aloud, as her hands clapped over her mouth in a moment of mortified embarrassment. "No, I-I mean . . . " Her cheeks flushed hot crimson behind her fingers.

Honda laughed. "What? It's true." He too studied Atemu with incredulous surprise. "I mean, you two are practically twins! You could definitely pass for brothers."

" 'Cept your skin was darker before," Jonouchi muttered under his breath in some confusion.

_[Brothers . . ._ ] Atemu chuckled, his eyes finding Yugi's, a great fondness in their depths. [_In a very real sense, we are._]

Yugi nodded. "'Nakama.' Brothers in spirit – just like all of you are family to us anymore." Primarily, his eyes found those of Honda, Anzu, Bakura, both Kaibas and especially Jonouchi, but he made sure to include the three Tombkeepers in that as well. After all, they were just as responsible for the two of them to be standing there now in that place as anyone else.

Rishid nodded with a small smile, and Atemu thought that he must be feeling twice blessed by that, as he had only recently found full acceptance as "family" by the clan that had raised him.

Ishizu hesitated a moment before breaking the silence and mood, her voice soft. "Shall we continue on, everyone?"

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

The narrow hallway opened onto a chamber some twenty meters wide and easily double that in length, a row of hypostyle columns lining the way to either side. Not an inch of the walls, columns, or even ceiling had been left uncarven or unpainted with funerary text and images, as would also prove to be the case in subsequent chambers. Skeletal bodies littered the stone floor in piles, so old the rot no longer reeked – Jonouchi managed to control his phobia enough not to flip out entirely but Atemu noted him still hanging to the back and center of the group, his necrophobia reducing his breaths to shallow panting. Honda gripped Jonouchi's shoulder in reassurance.

In each corner across from them, enormous stone vipers reared, coiling up a separate pair of columns, mouths gaping as though poised to strike. Giant rubies had been embedded into each one's eyes.

"Wow, how beautiful," Yugi murmured as they stepped into the room, his tone devoid of greed for the precious stones. Atemu nodded agreement, also appreciating the ancient sculptor's artwork.

Malik held out an arm to stop the group just inside the door. He pointed at the snakeheads. "This is the first trap. The asps are rigged with poisoned metal spikes that will shoot anything that moves in the room, except along a narrow path down the center."

Atemu's gaze fell to the floor, studying the perfect gridwork of stone blocks. _No, not perfect_, he noted.

Yugi saw it, too. "The row of blocks down the very center is marginally narrower than the rest."

Sugoroku pushed his way to the front of the group, stepping up between Yugi and Malik. He had guessed the nature of the trap last time, but now with his own ancient memory fully restored as well, Atemu could see in his eyes that he truly recalled these masterwork statues. "A thief will try to approach the asps to steal their ruby eyes, which will take them away from the center of the room, or else slink along to one side or the other thinking to escape their gaze. One who belongs here will approach with confidence, walking the length of the room in full view."

"Yes." Malik glanced at Atemu, then back across the rest of the company. "We'll go in a straight line. Walk exactly down the center of the room, along the narrow row of blocks. Don't let anything cross the blocks' edges – an elbow, a pack strap, not even a lock of hair." Nods of understanding responded.

The group traversed the room without incident, Malik then Atemu leading, Yugi a step behind his spirit partner, the rest in a file behind him. A few paused briefly to admire the lifelike statues of guards, one on either side of the door, facing one another. The next chamber looked much like the first, but with the conspicuous absence of corpses. And snakes. Instead, the walls rose into darkness, the ceiling lost to the shadows above their heads. Against the wall opposite them stood a colossal statue of a falcon-headed man. The regal headdress bespoke of pharaonic ties.

"_Kemwer-Heru_," Kaiba breathed, awed in spite of himself.

_[The Great Black One, Horus,]_ Atemu translated with a nod_, [god-son of Usir . . . eh . . . Osiris._]

"As a living god, the pharaoh was said to be the son of Horus," Sugoroku put in, "believed then to _become_ Horus upon death, or at least to unite with him among the gods in the Afterlife."

"Guess you missed the boat, huh?" Jonouchi teased.

Anzu gasped, Kaiba glared, and Bakura admonished, "Jonouchi-kun!"

Atemu only shrugged with a wry smile. [_More so than you realize, my friend_.]

"The souls of the dead were believed to be ferried to the Afterlife on solar barges," Ishizu explained.

Jonouchi gaped, having meant his comment purely in jest. He gave his friend and fellow Duelist a sheepish grin. "Whoa. Then, you really _did_ miss the boat, didn't ya?" Anzu barely restrained herself from smacking him across the back of the head for his insensitivity. Honda, however, did not.

The company crossed the room, finding no doors, windows, even alcoves to break the walls of the room, no apparent way out at all but for the door through which they had entered. Between the great statue's ankles, a small, framed fresco of blank plaster decorated the wall, the upper boundary arched by long feathered wings flanking a solar disk, a deep sill at the bottom jutting out some fifteen centimeters and equal that in depth, filled with pitch. Malik dropped the tip of his torch to the oily, black substance, flames leaping instantly to lick up the face of the fresco. Hieroglyphs burned into existence as the plaster heated up.

Kaiba's eyes narrowed at the warning, even as he remembered the message from previous visits as the priest who helped in the final preparations of the tomb. "'This is a forbidden place. Beyond this point rests the Pharaoh. Beware, you who would disturb him. The gods shall punish you. Your body will rot, and your soul be cursed to eternal darkness.'"

Mokuba shivered. "That doesn't include us, does it, Big-Brother?"

Rishid shook his head with a soft laugh. "You are being guided by no fewer than three Tombkeepers, invited here by the Pharaoh himself. No, you are not trespassers. Do not fear."

_[I was 'disturbed' some three decades ago_,] Atemu chuckled at the same time, [_and, as far as I can tell, Grandpa is not cursed because of it._] He thought for a moment, adding silently, _At least, I pray not . . ._

"I was drawn to this place. I thought at the time it was simply because of the challenge of conquering the greatest game in history . . . but now I know it was more than that, much more."

Mokuba frowned, discomfort breeding impatience. "Well, where is the entrance, then?"

Even as he asked, a section of stone floor dropped several centimeters and shifted, slowly disappearing under the wall. Those at its edges grabbed and braced those dancing in shock off the moving surface, looking down at the newly revealed staircase leading into darkness.

"Well," Bakura laughed, the tone a nervous tremor, "that answers that, doesn't it? Ah . . . shall we?"

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	13. Chapter 13 Shadow Games

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 13 – Shadow Games

The stairs ended on a dais of stone flooring some six meters to a side, the edges dropping off into oblivion. The room itself was of epic proportions, the way across a labyrinth of intersecting walkways grooved in parallels with what looked like tram tracks. Dotting the labyrinth all throughout stood giant warrior statues on rectangular stone bases, each wielding a pair of very real, very sharp swords. A few still had the remains of bodies clinging wretchedly to the blades, including two on the dais itself, flanking the start of the walkway.

Atemu watched Jonouchi drag his eyes away from the mounded corpses along the forward edge of the landing, gulping down a rapidly-rising phobic panic, even as Anzu skittered back from the edge, looking dizzy from the height, and Mokuba paled at the bones and remnants of clothing hanging from the long rows of spaces in the walls to either side of the door. Kaiba merely took it all in as Honda shook his head in disgust. "Aw, man . . . this is that room you were telling us about, isn't it, Grandfather? The one where you have to walk with your left foot forward?"

Sugoroku grimaced. "Yes, it sure is, Honda-kun." Back on the cruise ship, the conversation had turned to the dead guides before he could explain why. "Though Atemu is with us, the Shadow Game here is to remember your place. The pharaoh was considered a god, and his tomb a place of the gods. All statues dedicated to the pharaoh or the gods stood with their left foot forward, a representation of taking your heart from your left breast and offering it as a token of absolute loyalty. And, by the way, no one step right there." He pointed out what appeared at first glance to be a flat-topped, golfball-sized stone wedged into the corner seams of four stone blocks, the trigger that would close the door and cause the walls to advance on them, rows of spikes emerging to further force the hapless trespasser onto the narrow walkway or off the edges of the dais. That detail Sugoroku _had_ managed to tell them about.

Malik nodded. "One must always show humility in the presence of the pharaoh and the gods. Any who fails to do so is rewarded with death."

Out of the corner of his eye, Atemu saw Malik glance at him with that last statement, but he himself did not meet anyone's eye, gazing out across the elevated labyrinth. [_There are a dozen of us all told, myself included_,] he declared after a moment's thought. [_I think it would be too risky for us all to cross at once. Move too hastily, even if we do keep the statues from reacting, and we run the risk that someone loses their balance and falls. I think we should cross a few at a time. I will go first_.] If there were danger to be had, he preferred himself to be the one to discover it, unwilling to risk his friends.

"I have been this way many times, Phar – ah . . . Atemu." Malik grimaced at himself for the slip. "I would like to go with you if I may."

Atemu studied him for a moment, then nodded. [_It would be my honor if you would walk with me, Namu._] He hesitated as he studied Yugi, then sighed. [_I don't know how far apart you and I can get, Aibou, so I'm afraid you will have to come, too. I will trust you and Namu to guard each other, as I cannot catch either of you from falling._] With a wry smile, he passed a hand through Malik's arm to further make his point, chuckling when the sensation made Malik shiver.

Yugi turned to Malik with a big grin, teasing. "Don't worry, Namu-kun! I'll protect you."

Malik laughed in good nature. "I'm sure you will, Yugi."

The trio started out across the walkway, Atemu leading, followed by Yugi, then Malik. The statues did not react . . . until Atemu got ahead of the other two by several paces, paused, straightened, and attempted to walk squarely toward the nearest statue, meeting its red-painted eyes. In an instant, several golems scraped to life, bases grinding forward along the floor while sword-wielding arms swung wildly. Atemu backpedaled with a cry of surprise, even as the blades of the nearest passed harmlessly through his incorporeal form. He shifted his feet, so his left was forward, and the figures stopped.

"Other Me!" Yugi yelped, moving on reflex to go to his partner's aid.

Malik's arms around his shoulders prevented it. "Yugi, wait!"

Atemu, too, held up a hand by then to stay him but, before he could comment, Sugoroku's voice cut him off.

"Young man, what do you think you're doing?"

Atemu flinched in spite of himself at the scolding tone, looking over his shoulder at his former advisor and father figure with a sheepish shrug. [_I . . . was curious if they would be able to sense me._]

"Boy, you are . . . well, I _would_ say that you are going to get yourself killed, but . . . but even still! You were considered the embodiment of Horus in life, and would join him in death . . . but you are not there yet! Even _you_ must show proper respect to the gods of our ancestors, Atemu. This may be your own tomb, but it is still ultimately the gods' domain and even you are not exempt from their wrath."

Atemu glanced up at the statue with a wry grin. [_Yes, Si-Amun, so I see . . ._ ] He noted the positions of the other statues around the room. [_But the gods also are discerning. Look! The ones behind Aibou and Namu did not move, as they would have had to come through them to get to me. Only the ones in front of me, that could reach me unimpeded, moved to react._] He saw Yugi nod, looking around and coming to the same conclusion.

"Good ta know, buddy," Jonouchi called back, the momentary fear for his friends helping to stave off the necrophobia, "but knock it off, will ya? Gonna give us all heart attacks over here!"

Atemu nodded as Yugi and Malik stepped up behind him. [_My apologies, Jonouchi-kun. Listen! The three of us are about halfway across. I suggest the next group go ahead and start. Jonouchi and Honda will follow Si-Amun's lead, then Kaiba and Mokuba with Ishizu. Rishid, you are responsible for Anzu and Bakura._]

With nods and murmurs of assent, the groups rearranged themselves on the dais in preparation for their turns. Moving in cautious sets of three, they made their way across, the only moment of concern being when Bakura got too close to an edge while slipping past a statue, the rock crumbling under his weight. The warrior's arm came off at the shoulder when Bakura grabbed for it, and only Rishid's quick reflexes saved him from the oblivion yawning below. Finally, however, the company regrouped on the other side of the room, gathering at the base of another mammoth statue of Horus built into the wall. This one was seated, with the doorway gaping open under the throne between the figure's legs. Beyond, a short descent of stairs led into the darkness, the group's torches revealing yet more of the customary Pyramid Texts.

The group left the sloped corridor for a small antechamber, the walls surprisingly empty but for a single set of text to the right of the door opposite them. Sugoroku hesitated, hanging back a moment as memories replayed behind his eyes. Yugi slipped his hand into his grandfather's for a moment in comfort.

Mokuba was the first to reach the wall with the text, tracing the carvings with one finger. "What does this one say?"

Atemu rested a gentle, ethereal hand on the boy's shoulder as he stepped up behind him. ['_The Ka sealed in the stone slabs shall judge you. The cowardly will be eaten by demons. The courageous will be shown the way_.']

Anzu shivered. "Demons?"

Kaiba smirked, glancing back at Sugoroku. "Must have been quite a shock to you, old man, the last time you were here."

Sugoroku nodded. "You finished and magicked that room, didn't you? After . . ."

"I did. The tomb was still incomplete when you and Atemu died, and you had not left instructions as to your plans for anything past that Shadow-animated gauntlet, so I got a little creative." In spite of the smug confidence, few missed the deep flinch in Kaiba's eyes, remembered grief over the violent loss of his king and childhood friend. Sharp azure shifted to find dark amethyst, and Atemu allowed a small nod of silent appreciation.

Rishid gazed into the blackness of the doorway. "The room beyond is not wide, but it is long. A bridge spans the chasm below, carved in five sections. Each holds the spirit of a _ka_ monster."

Sugoroku swallowed, stepping forward. "The monsters will allow us to pass. We are not here to commit evil. We have nothing to fear."

Malik nodded confirmation, though he paused, even pulled back a little, as the others began to file through the door.

Anzu turned to find him. "Namu-kun, what is it?"

"I . . . " Malik pulled a breath, then confessed. "I have never been past the doorway. I . . . I knew I would not be allowed passage across the bridge, nor truthfully was there anything beyond that I felt I wanted or needed." His head bowed, one hand coming up to grip his sister's as Ishizu laid both of hers on his shoulders from behind in silent comfort.

Atemu came back through the group to his side, head tilting a bit as he regarded the young man. [_Namu, Malik Ishtahl . . . hold your heart strong, my friend, and come – walk with me._] He turned with a gesture of invitation. Malik hesitated a moment longer, then followed him to the head of the group once more, stepping onto the bridge shoulder-to-shoulder with Atemu.

The group passed without so much as a breath or a tremor from the spirits in the bridge, and twelve people gathered around an empty altar. Sugoroku was the first to break the heavy silence. "Here. Right here is where I found the box with the broken Millennium Weight – the Millennium Puzzle – inside." On subconscious reflex, Yugi's hand came up to grip the chain of the Puzzle, even as the company turned almost as one to Atemu.

The spirit, however, only barely noted. His attention was more on the bridge now behind them, on the left-hand edge of the nearest slab. He stood a long moment in silence, then dropped to a knee, breathing a single word. [_Si-Amun . . ._ ] Vaguely, as if from a long-forgotten dream, he thought remembered doing the same thing somehow. Or rather, some_when_. But . . . how was that possible?

He felt Yugi watching him in confusion. "Nakama?"

"What are you remembering?" Kaiba queried in a low tone.

Atemu shook himself and looked up at them, his eyes sweeping them all before they settled on Sugoroku. He could not begin to fathom how he knew it, but he felt sure. [_Y-you . . . you'd fallen . . ._ ]

Sugoroku nodded. "My guide betrayed and shot me, the bullet grazing my shoulder. I wasn't really hurt, not badly, but the force of the blow and the sheer shock of having _been_ shot threw me off-balance, and I slipped off the edge of the bridge . . . right about there, must have been." He nodded again, this time to point with his chin at the spot by Atemu's knee where, even now, faint fingermarks could be seen scuffing the dust. "I caught myself with the hand of my good arm, but I couldn't pull myself back up – and my fingers started slipping."

Atemu frowned in thought, eyes falling away from Sugoroku's as his mind grasped at wisps of memory. [_A sharp sound broke the endless darkness, like sudden thunder but . . . not, a-and . . . I remember a voice. No, not a voice, per se, but a sensation, a sense of presence . . . one that I knew, I was sure of it. Someone I loved was in danger, and there was no one to save him . . . _]

Jonouchi gaped. "You'd been asleep an' in _pieces_ for three thousand years, an' you still felt that?"

Kaiba shrugged. "Besides his own parents, Si-Amun was probably one of the few people closest to Atemu in life. Si-Amun acted as personal advisor in public and, more privately, as a sort of foster father to Atemu after Pharaoh Akh-khnum-ka-nen died."

"Family." Rishid nodded, his voice soft. "Even by adoption, ties of family can be very powerful." Ishizu and Malik both smiled at him.

Sugoroku chuckled. "I passed out even as you knelt. When I came to again, I was lying on the bridge, and you were gone."

Atemu nodded. [_I remember kneeling and reaching for you. I . . . don't remember actually pulling you up,_] he admitted with a small shrug and sheepish grin.

"Come, my pharaoh," Ishizu murmured. "The final chamber still awaits."

8 8 8 8 8

Anzu stood near the back of the group, eyes glued to Atemu. He was even more handsome than she had imagined and, throughout this journey so far, she had found it hard not to keep watching him. Was it so wrong that part of her wanted their time in this tomb to last forever?

At Ishizu's words, Atemu nodded and pushed to his feet, his appearance shifting even as he did so, and Anzu's breath caught in her throat. His skin darkened, white linens wrapping his trunk and thighs. Gold glinted in the torchlight from his shins, waist, fingers, wrists, upper arms, ears, and a backwards-sweeping headdress with the stylized Horus Eye worked into the center. A tatter-edged cloak of royal blue billowed behind him as he stood. He paused, seeming to note the expressions on his friends' faces. [_What is it?_]

Jonouchi crossed his arms, eyeing his spectral friend. "Now _that's_ more like what I saw."

Grinning, Yugi stepped up to Atemu and took one hand in both of his. Anzu knew that Yugi alone could "physically" touch him because of the bond between their souls, allowing their living energies to interact – she remembered him telling her once. Yugi chuckled at the startled catch of breath as Atemu seemed to realize the difference in skin tones between them. The spirit looked down at himself, free hand lifting to finger the weight on his brow.

Anzu did not realize how she was gaping and blushing until Ishizu bumped her, whispering in her ear. "I have to agree."

Anzu jumped. "Eh? W-what do you mean?"

Ishizu grinned, breathing, "He's quite handsome, especially in full regalia."

Anzu felt her heart stop, and she turned back toward the altar before the hot flush of her face could further embarrass her. "S-so . . . how do we . . . get . . . ?" She gave up, her throat and mind both refusing to cooperate. She scowled back at the smirk on Kaiba's face.

8 8 8 8 8

Kaiba shook his head. Even he had long ago noted the girl's feelings for the spirit, and he could not say which secretly amused him more: her crushy, school-girl fluster, or the fact that Atemu, so far as Kaiba had ever observed, was completely oblivious to it.

In any case, it was not important to the matter at hand, and Kaiba pushed it from his mind. He slid through the group and around the altar to stand by a column abutting the wall, one of four supporting the stone canopy over their heads. The section of wall between the columns had been carved with a collage of images in wide rows, a square of blank plaster bordered in hieroglyphs at its center. "'Only those to whom the Pharaoh has opened his heart may enter his sacred burial chamber'," Kaiba read, his voice soft, then pressed his palm to the blank square. Several startled gasps sounded from the group as the ornate wall panel between the rear columns began to rise, sliding away to reveal a blackness that failed to give way to the torchlight even of those standing closest. Kaiba tossed in his torch, and it seems to vanish at the doorway. No one even heard wood clatter on stone when it should have hit the floor.

Bakura shuddered. "Must we go in there?" He flinched back from Kaiba's silent glare.

Mokuba, however, agreed. "Big-Brother, why is it so dark? What happened to the torch?"

Kaiba's expression softened some as he noted his little brother's fear, then he lifted his gaze to take in the rest of the group as well. Even the Ishtahls stood studying the impenetrable blackness with a measure of apprehension, and Kaiba guessed that not one of them had ever been beyond the altar. "This doorway opens on a short corridor that is phased out of sync with the Prime Material Plane, dipping through the Shadow Realm itself. Only one who carries a Millennium Item can get through. This door must be closed before the next one will open, which means we all have to go in, then Yugi can get us into the final chamber, currently being the most in tune with his Item." He saw Yugi meet his gaze with confidence, nodding as he gripped the chain of the Puzzle. "The Shadow Realm may try to separate us, so we would be wise to keep a tight grip on one another."

Kaiba opened his briefcase to pull out the Millennium Rod, and Sugoroku slipped off his pack to retrieve the Millennium Key. Only Yugi could touch Atemu, so Atemu led alongside his _aibou_, followed by Jonouchi, Ishizu, Mokuba, Kaiba, Honda, Anzu, Rishid, Bakura, Malik and finally Sugoroku, thereby placing an Item wielder at each end of the line and one in the middle, just in case.

One after another, the companions stepped across the threshold, hand tightly in hand as the utter blackness swallowed their senses. Not one of them managed to keep from shivering at the whispers of sensation flowing around them – curiosity, challenge, vexation at the intrusion. The living did not belong in this domain of the Underworld. Finally, Sugoroku crossed, and the four Items began to glow, including the approximation of the Puzzle that Atemu wore, pushing back the darkness around the company. Neither walls nor ceiling could be discerned, although an impression of a stone floor could be made out in the shadows at their feet. Then, the Horus Eyes of Yugi's and Atemu's Puzzles flared, twin beams of brilliant light firing out into the blackness ahead, converging on a single point on a stone wall some six to seven meters away. Power limned the etchings across the surface of a square panel, glimmering gold to outline opposing Horus Eyes flanking a solar disk, and a carving of the Millennium Puzzle below. A seam split the surface down its center, bisecting disk and Puzzle. The beams from Yugi's and Atemu's Puzzles had targeted the Horus Eye of the carven Puzzle of the wall.

Kaiba was the first to break the silence. "That's it – the door to the final chamber." The Shadows around them tried to swallow the sound of his voice, making it seem as though coming from far away even in his own ears.

Atemu lifted his free hand to the door, the other still gripping Yugi's against the pull of the Shadows, and spoke a reverberating command in the language of his birth. Shadow power flared from his outstretched palm.

Light seared down the seam of the door, and the two panels slid apart, revealing more blinding light as the group was violently yanked across the threshold without warning.

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	14. Chapter 14 The Tombkeepers

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 14 – The Tombkeepers

Eleven living bodies and one startled spirit tumbled into an unceremonious heap on a chill stone floor. Atemu was the first to pull himself from the pile, shivering violently as he stood up and stepped out from the bottom _through_ the bodies of some of his friends. _Urgh!_ he thought. _The sensation of my energy pattern passing _through_ solid material . . ._ Another shudder ran through him as if for good measure.

"NYARGH!" Jonouchi complained simultaneously, a rampant tremor wracking him. He gave Atemu a reproachful look. "Dude, don't _do_ that to a guy!"

"Y-yeah! T-that was . . . Brrr!" Mokuba agreed. Ishizu wore a delicate grimace, while Yugi just gave Atemu a sheepish grin before he turned with a murmur of thanks to Rishid who, with Honda and Malik, was starting to help people back to their feet. Kaiba scowled as he steadied a blinking Anzu before retrieving his Rod and briefcase, and Bakura nearly tripped on the Key as he tried to get to his feet, but Sugoroku caught him. Someone's hiking pack had come partly unfastened as well, spilling a bundle of toiletries. Jonouchi groaned dramatically and set to retrieving them. Yugi, of course, helped.

Atemu rubbed a sensation like gooseflesh from his arms. [_My apologies, my friends. If it's any consolation, that wasn't pleasant for me, either!_] Pushing the teeth-gritting experience from his mind, he turned to take in the sight of this, the deepest and most sacred chamber.

Torches burning in sconces lined the walls, the rest of the chamber lit by braziers on poles standing in strategic locations throughout. Thick, decorated columns stood in two rows, dividing the place in unequal thirds stretching away from them, the center aisle wider than the outer two. Most immediately, however, the group had landed at the foot of a relatively modest structure, but one that took their whole attention in an instant. A squat obelisk stood centered between the nearest-most pillars, barely a meter tall and about half that per side in width. The pyramid at the crown was surfaced in smooth, gold leaf. The rest was gleaming white stone, in contrast to the yellow-brown of the rest of the tomb, the bottom third carved in rows of hieroglyphs, while single rows framed the upper portion on either side of a dominant panel. In that panel was carved a single image.

"I-it's . . . a cartouche," Bakura breathed. "A-an empty one."

Kaiba was scowling in confusion. "It wasn't blank when I carved it."

"It is empty, yes," sounded a voice from ahead and yet all around. "Has been since you spoke the name on its face, Bakura Ryou."

_[Shadi._] Atemu grunted in no little amount of exasperation as the group surged around the memorial to take in the rest of the chamber.

"Gods," Honda complained. "You again?"

Two successive raised platforms dominated the rest of the central space from the obelisk to the far wall, the latter a bit higher than the closer. A massive panel decorated the wall between abutting columns, with stepped crosspieces framing the top edge – a doorway not unlike the one behind the Puzzle's altar at the end of the stone bridge. This one had rows of hieroglyphs carved down its seamed halves, with a stylized Horus Eye in a single, sizable frame at the center. In the middle of the larger, closer dais stood Shadi in front of a wide, flat structure on the ground. "It gladdens my heart to see that you have all made it here safely – and so quickly. You are to be commended."

Jonouchi snarled. "An' _you_ are to be throttled for – ?" He stopped in surprise as Atemu put his arm out across his friend, a silent request for him to hold his peace.

Ishizu stepped forward. "Shadi, am I to understand that you are here to help us open the door to the Otherworld, then?"

"I am. What the Pharaoh Atemu and Pharaoh Seti lack in memory from their training as sorcerers to accomplish this task, I will attempt to make up." He grinned almost sheepishly, shrugging. "I can make no guarantee that I will be of much help, nor that this will work at all, but your plan is as sound as anyone has been able to devise."

Malik nodded. "As soon as Shadi returned to tell us what had happened, all the family heads of the entire clan pulled together for an emergency council. In the end, they decided that the best course of action would be for a small company of people to go through this portal, altered to go to Reirinsei rather than the Underworld and, from there, enlist the help of the native inhabitants against the threat to their world and ours."

Anzu frowned. "So why are _we_ here?"

At that, none of the Tombkeepers would meet the others' eyes, not even Shadi. Atemu nodded in understanding, though he could not completely hide the tremor of terror that shuddered through his slim frame. Still, his voice was steady when he spoke. [_We are the ones in possession of the Millennium Items . . . and it was _my_ doing to release Zorc to begin with, by pursuing my lost memories. I am the one who sealed him the first time, so it is my responsibility to go after him and finish what I started._] He managed a very small grin at his _aibou_ when Yugi laid a gentle, supportive hand on his ethereal arm.

Bakura swallowed in fear but asserted, "Not alone, Atemu-sama." Atemu saw him and Yugi exchange looks and fortifying nods, then turn and share nods with the others, unifying behind his lead. He could only pray that history would not repeat itself . . . or worse.

Ishizu spoke up before any others could further comment. "That is . . . part of it, my pharaoh. The responsibility is not yours alone. You could not have known. Still, you are right that the council has decided to entrust this matter into your company's hands, if only because you _are_ in possession of all seven Millennium Items now."

Malik's hands tightened into fists. "But not just you guys. Rishid, Ishizu and I are going as well. It's the least we can do for all the trouble we . . . the trouble _I've_ caused."

"No, you are not going with them, Malik."

Malik glared at Shadi. "What? Why not?"

"Because only seven will pass this door. Pharaoh Atemu and Mutou Yugi count as one. Six will accompany them, one for each of the remaining six Millennium Items." His cool, blue eyes met those of Jonouchi, Anzu, Honda, Sugoroku, Bakura, and Kaiba.

Atemu found himself wondering what that might mean down the road, recalling his conversation with Yugi on the riverboat, but he kept his silence . . . for now.

Malik began to protest anew, and his siblings with him, but Mokuba beat them to it. "What? But that means . . . I can't go, either! Big-Brother – ?" He stopped when Kaiba turned to him, the expression in his brother's eyes startling him into silence.

"Mokuba, don't be ridiculous. I have never intended to take you beyond this point. Had Malik and the others not met us at the airport, I would have had you go back with the plane. Ishizu, I . . . " He hesitated, but he had no choice. "I . . . entrust Mokuba into yours and your brothers' care. I _will_ return for him. On my honor, you have my word."

Shadi frowned. "Have a care, Kaiba Seto. Do not make promises you do not know you will be able to keep."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed dangerously as he turned back to Shadi, his glower alone enough to demand explanation.

Shadi was not cowed, his gaze turning once again to take in the whole company at once. "Make no mistake, my friends. You are not journeying from one city to another, nor even one country to another. You are leaving this world for another one altogether, and none here have any way of bringing you back. If possible, the Ishtahls and I, and the rest of our clan with us, will hold open the door and guard it, but should it come under any kind of assault, or if our resources should deplete, we _will_ be forced to close it and may not be able to reopen it, though we will of course do everything within our power to try. Understand now, however, what you are getting yourselves into before you commit yourselves to the point of no return."

Yugi shook his head, glancing at Atemu. "Thank you, Shadi-san, but I think we've already reached that point. Regardless of the consequences, we _have_ to do this. We can't leave Zorc Necrophades loose in that world, both for Reirinsei's sake _and_ because he could return to our own, maybe with reinforcements."

"There are more of his kind out there," Sugoroku put in, his voice low, "and I've little doubt he intends to release them, just as he would have three thousand years ago, had he had the chance."

Kaiba gripped his briefcase in one hand and the Rod in the other, both fists turning white at the knuckles, eyes hollow as a faint shiver wracked his tall, lithe frame at the memories. Beside him, Jonouchi, Anzu, Bakura, and Honda could not know what those memories were, but Atemu watched them shudder and exchange looks, no doubt acutely aware that they would learn firsthand for themselves all too soon. Atemu gripped his _aibou's_ shoulders, both offering and seeking comfort, as Yugi wrapped his arms around his chest, trembling despite his brave façade.

Shadi studied them for a moment longer, his eyes betraying more compassion than they had before. "My friends," he said after a moment, voice quiet, "your quest to this chamber was a long one, and the adventure before you even longer. Take the time now to rest as much as you can. Over there, you will find blankets for warmth and refreshments for nourishment."

Atemu turned and noticed for the first time that his group was not the only one in the chamber. A handful of dark-skinned men dressed in bright-colored clothes worked in silence to lay out a spread of baskets carried in from a concealed door near the back corner of the chamber.

Honda gaped. "Dude!" He rounded on Ishizu and her brothers. "There's a back door to this place? How come you guys didn't bring us in _that_ way?"

"It . . . _would_ have been less . . . dangerous," Bakura put in.

Kaiba folded his arms. "It was not part of _my_ design."

Ishizu shook her head, looking equally baffled as she stared at the door.

Rishid spoke in his siblings' defense. "I swear to you, my friends, we did not know. A . . . secret held by only another part of the clan . . . ?" He turned questioning eyes on Shadi.

Shadi nodded. "Not all of the secrets of the clan are known to all of the families, as well you are aware." He met each of the Ishtahl siblings' eyes, who nodded slowly in response. "Well, this passage, added by an Item bearer after Pharaoh Seti's time, guided by an intuition from his Item, is one of the secrets of _our_ family. Bobasa!"

At his name, one of the group in the corner turned and straightened, his eyes bright while a big grin split his round, jolly face. Atemu shook his head in amusement – if a giant beach ball could somehow be personified and given clothes, he had the vague impression it would look something like this man. "Yes, Master Shadi?"

"Come see to our guests' comforts. They've had a long journey."

"Oh, my, yes, yes!" Bobasa trotted – _More like bounce_, Atemu thought with a silent chuckle – over to the group and offered a bow and a gentile hand each to Anzu and Ishizu, the ladies of the party. "Come, come. Refreshments await!"

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks


	15. Chapter 15 Threshold

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 15 – Threshold

Weary and grateful, the company trailed Bobasa to the corner to take advantage of Shadi's provisions, shucking backpacks and dropping to the ground beside them. A hearty chorus of "We humbly partake!" – the Japanese equivalent of a blessing – rang out in the musty air, the Ishtahls even participating, before the meager but much-appreciated meal began.

Atemu had no requirement for food nor, he knew, could he have partaken if he had wanted to, but he sat with his friends for the companionship, listening to the soft chatter around him . . . and wondering at his own senses – especially smell. The food all smelled good, and he was suddenly glad he had no want for it, or it would have been torture!

Shadi waited, still standing on the first dais before the low structure, until the group was largely finished eating before speaking up again. "Pharaoh Atemu, Kaiba Seto, please join me here on the dais, and we will get started with the Door." Kaiba left his briefcase and hiking pack but, Atemu noted with a small grin, he carried the Rod with him to meet Shadi on the dais.

Atemu climbed the few steps to the platform behind Kaiba – and gasped. He had not been able to see from below, but now he could see the surface of the low structure behind Shadi, recognizing it instantly. It was a wide, circular formation, a large ring of hieroglyphs framing a vaguely humanoid shape raised in bas relief from the surface, reminiscent of the lid of a sarcophagus. Amid more hieroglyphic text, Atemu could make out bent, sleeved arms, hands in fists on either side of the figure's breast, and a face under a rich, pharaonic headdress. Deeply recessed into the surface of the sarcophagus-like figure were depressions for all seven Millennium Items – the Scale where the figure's legs would be, the Ring level with its abdomen, the Puzzle in its chest, the Rod and Key in its hands, and the Eye in its forehead crowned by the Necklace in the front of its headdress. He had seen it only once before, when the self-proclaimed King of Thieves had gathered all seven Items and released Zorc three thousand years ago. [_T-the . . . Millennium Stone . . ._ ]

Kaiba eyed him. "Yes, it is. I told you, I had it moved here before the tomb was sealed."

Atemu shook his head, dragging his eyes up from the massive plaque to find Shadi's. [_N-no, I . . . I had forgotten until just now, but . . . Shadi, Pegasus told me once how he met you years ago and received the Millennium Eye. He described this stone, but he said he had been in Kul Elna, had followed you down into that underground temple – _] He turned to Kaiba. [ – _where you and I and the others had faced that thief, and Zorc was released._]

Kaiba snorted. "Impossible. That can't have been more than ten years ago. He's in his mid-twenties, and didn't he tell you he was our age – well . . . mine and Yugi's age – when he was in Egypt that first time? I had the stone moved _out_ of Kul Elna three thousand years ago."

[_He said he was in his late teens at the time, yes_.] Atemu turned to Shadi for explanation.

The Egyptian allowed a mysterious smile to tug at his lips. "The Millennium Stone is an Item of Power, even more so than the seven Millennium Items it helped forge. It is not of this world . . . heh, no, not of Reirinsei, either," Shadi corrected at the question in the others' eyes. "It is supernatural, and not of the Prime Material Plane at all, but belonging ultimately to the realm of gods and demons. As such, it can be wherever it chooses to be, where it feels it needs to be. What determines that, even I do not know. But you are both right. It first appeared in Kul Elna, where it remained until _your_ death, and _you_ moved it here – " He nodded to Atemu and Kaiba in turn. " – and has since fluctuated between the two as it has seen fit. It knew that Pegasus would be in Egypt. In fact, I've little doubt that it called his subconscious to Kul Elna, where he and I crossed paths. The Millennium Key gave me a sensation that this man would prove to be of great importance." He graced them with another small, haunting smile. "It was not wrong, was it?"

Atemu frowned. [_No . . . no, it was not_.]

"Enough of this." Kaiba grunted, impatient. "Are we going to work on the Door or talk supernatural idiosyncrasies?"

Atemu, Kaiba, and Shadi stepped up onto the rear dais, which made Atemu think of a porch of some kind at the foot of the otherworldly doorway. They studied and located the glyphs they would need to alter, then Kaiba and Shadi set into those few with archeological-grade chisels and miniature hammers brought to them by some of Shadi's men, tiny instruments for fine-detail work.

After a few minutes, Atemu heard Sugoroku excuse himself from the group in the corner to join the three on the dais, intent on helping. Atemu arched an eyebrow, and Sugoroku huffed defensively. "I may not have had the same mystical training as you two mages, young man, but – " He paused, pulling a deep breath as he turned and regarded the portal with pensive eyes. " – I have stood before the door to Reirinsei often enough to recall much of the ancient text inscribed on it, believe it or not." When Sugoroku turned to look at him again, Atemu gazed back only a moment longer, then nodded.

Once the chosen spots were smoothed in preparation for the new glyphs, Kaiba gave the older gentleman his tools, and the foursome paired off to inscribe them, Sugoroku and Shadi doing the manual labor while Atemu and Kaiba stood behind them with hands on their shoulders, chanting the ancient spells and flooding the energies through their partners to activate the magic of the new hieroglyphs and integrate them into the function of the rest of the door.

By this point, the others had gathered to witness, watching in amazement as each finished glyph flared with silver power for a moment before the surrounding stone absorbed its energies. Upon completion, Shadi looked unaffected, but Sugoroku rubbed his shoulder, sore from the work. Kaiba put a hand to his head, and Atemu sank to a knee, both of them tired from the unaccustomed spellcasting. Neither had wielded magic in any such manner for millennia. Their companions pulled in around them, supporting and concerned.

"So . . . that it, then?"

Atemu looked up at Jonouchi as Yugi helped him back to his feet. [_We have yet to see if it worked, but . . . that should be it, yes_.]

Kaiba crossed his arms. "It will work."

Bakura shifted closer to the former priest. "Eh . . . Kaiba-kun, may I ask you something just briefly?" Kaiba only eyed him, but it was not a refusal, so Bakura plowed on. "This is the innermost chamber, is it not? The sacred burial chamber? I-I've been wondering . . . w-where is Atemu's sarcophagus?" He glanced with sheepish apology at the spirit, then looked at the Millennium Stone, his expression betraying curiosity as to whether the coffin were hidden under that somehow.

Kaiba, too, glanced at Atemu, his eyes uncharacteristically soft, before turning to gaze down the chamber to the other end. "Yes, it is . . . and there isn't one. That obelisk at the front of the room was designed to be the structure to support the pharaoh's spirit in place of a body should it return to this place. I-I . . . " He turned to Atemu again. "I could not prepare your body and give you the proper burial you deserved. The spell you cast . . . consumed you completely, body and spirit. There was nothing left except the Millennium Weight itself." For the first time in the experience of his modern companions, Kaiba bowed his head in reverence and regret. "I'm sorry, my king."

Everyone but Atemu stared at him in shock, and even Jonouchi recognized the sincerity and the importance of the moment, solemnly refraining from any barbs that such a display might normally elicit between them.

Atemu shook his head. [_Seti, face me._] Kaiba straightened almost reluctantly, his eyes the last to come up and meet those of his deceased king. Atemu regarded him a long moment, then gave him a reassuring grin. [_Seti . . . my cousin, my friend . . . you have nothing to apologize for. You had no warning. My death was unexpected. Our land lost its king and most of its top advisors and sorcerers in under a week – most of those in a single day. I can only imagine the turmoil that would have erupted in the wake of all that. And yet, with all of that on your shoulders as my successor to the throne, you still involved yourself personally in the finishing of my tomb, even did some of the work yourself, and made sure to set all the pieces in place for my return – the Puzzle, the Stone, the Door . . . the Tablet of Memory . . ._ ] He shook his head again, marveling. [_You have honored me more than I could have ever asked for, both as king and as friend. Thank you._]

Kaiba gazed back in unreadable silence for so long that it began to look as though he would not respond at all, but finally he nodded. "I only did what was right . . . and because I wanted to."

Everyone stood in respectful silence for a moment, no one quite sure what to say to that. It was Kaiba who broke the spell with a grunt as he turned and stooped, retrieving the Millennium Rod from the floor where he had left it to work on the Door. Sugoroku pulled the Key from under his shirt where he had stashed it, hung from the thick rope around his neck. Moving with reluctance, the rest of the company retrieved their packs.

Yugi had moved the unclaimed Millennium Items from the knapsack, in which he had carried them to school the day before, into a shoulder bag he could wear across his torso out of the way of the larger backpack, and Atemu watched as Malik brought it to the group regathering on the lower dais around the Millennium Stone. Atemu frowned and turned to Shadi. [_What role, exactly, do the Millennium Items play in our passage through the Door?_]

"Each of those going must claim, and be accepted by, a Millennium Item. That relationship is the key to pass through the Door."

Atemu's fists – and jaw – clenched at that, and he growled, glancing over most of his dearest friends. [_They don't have to actually try to _wield_ them, do they?_]

Kaiba snorted. "I don't see how. None of them are trained." His eyes fixed especially on Jonouchi.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean, rich boy?"

Before Kaiba could retort – if he were going to – Sugoroku's hand on Jonouchi's arm swung him around enough to interrupt the retorts before they could erupt. "No! Jonouchi-kun, he's right! You've not seen what these Items can do in the hands of one not properly trained to handle their power. These aren't playthings, boy!"

Atemu glanced at his friends but most of his attention remained on Shadi. The mysterious Tombkeeper merely shrugged. "That remains to be revealed, my pharaoh."

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	16. Chapter 16 The Seven

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"  
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 16 – The Seven

Atemu watched anxiously while Rishid laid gentle hands on Mokuba's shoulders, firmly holding him back as Jonouchi, Bakura, Anzu and Honda pulled in around Malik, staring in apprehension at the bag as Malik held it open. Malik met their eyes, the tone of his voice earnest. "If any of you don't want to do this, I will gladly take your place." Atemu hid a grin when a glare from Kaiba kept Mokuba from speaking up to make the same offer.

Jonouchi studied him for a moment, then shook his head and turned to catch Atemu's eye. "Told ya once already that you're not leavin' any of us behind. Now, I won't speak for the others, but . . . Duelist's Honor, Atemu. I swear you still got _my_ word on that." With that, he turned again and jammed his hand into the bag. He paused, an odd look on his face, and pulled his hand back out, the Eye gripped in his fist. He grimaced at it, muttering softly. "Hn. Guess it's you an' me now, huh?" He stepped back.

Honda gazed at Jonouchi with a grimace of his own. "The Eye? Dude, you _sure_ you want that?"

Jonouchi rolled his eyes. "No. But I figured whatever was the first thing I touched was what I got. Why? You want it?" He held it out.

Honda shuddered, pushing Jonouchi's hand back. "Not a chance, man."

"We do not choose the Millennium Item that we wield," Ishizu put in, leaving Rishid's side at the edge of the dais to step up beside Malik. "It is the Item that chooses its wielder." Catching and holding Anzu's gaze, she reached into the bag. "I had more than one vision over time of you wearing this. Now I understand why." She held out her hand.

Anzu swallowed and took the Necklace from the woman's palm. "Thanks . . . I think." She gave Ishizu a weak grin, then stepped back by Jonouchi, thumb brushing over the Eye of the necklace's centerpiece as it rested across her fingers.

Honda exchanged looks with Bakura, then huffed a deep sigh. "Guess I'm next." He closed his eyes and held his breath, darting his hand in and back out of the bag before he could consider which Item he was grabbing. He came away with the Scale.

Bakura stood before Malik and the bag, gazing at the remaining Item, the Millennium Ring, his expression unreadable. Yugi slipped up next to him, and Bakura jumped when Yugi touched his arm.

"Bakura-kun . . . you know that you don't have to do this. Namu-kun has offered to take your place." He looked to Malik for confirmation.

Malik nodded. "On my life, Bakura, I'll take the Ring. I'd be glad to. You don't have to deal with any of this any more. Believe me, if anyone understands what you've been through . . . " Bakura looked up at him, and Malik held his eyes, his own intense. "Let me take your place, Bakura. Let me take the Millennium Ring."

"If it will let you," Rishid reminded him quietly. Malik threw him an unhappy glare.

Bakura gazed at the Ring for a moment, then slowly shook his head, meeting Malik's gaze again. "Thank you, Namu-kun, truly . . . but I think Rishid-san is right. It won't let you. Not a day has passed in the last few since Battle City that a part of me has not longed for it back, like a missing limb." He grimaced, as though he desperately wished it were otherwise. Still, slowly, he reached in, then pulled his hand back out of the bag, fist closed on the hoop of the Ring. He gazed at the Item for a moment, glanced up at Malik with a small, sad grin of apology, then turned to Atemu. "I . . . I wouldn't have come, wouldn't have made it this far, if I didn't want to help, Atemu-san. Besides, I feel responsible too. _I'm_ the one who was careless and spoke your name the first time back at the museum and released that demon to begin with. It's only right that I stand with the others to help you defeat him once and for all. And . . . and maybe . . . " His gaze fell to the Ring in his hand. "Maybe . . . put some demons of my own to rest in the process."

Atemu gazed back at him for a moment, almost too stunned to respond. Finally, he stepped up before Bakura, laying an ethereal hand on his shoulder. [_Bakura . . . I cannot begin to imagine the fear you must be facing to show such courage. I am honored to have you at my side, my friend._]

Bakura smiled and nodded, his grip on the Ring tightening.

Jonouchi turned to Shadi. "Okay, so that's all straightened out – now what?"

"Pharaoh, go up to the upper dais and stand before the Door. The rest of you, place your Items into their slots in the Millennium Stone and then step up to join him."

Atemu nodded and went to his place at the center of the next dais, turning to watch Sugoroku stoop and slide his Key under one of the carven figure's hands.

Across from him, Kaiba had knelt to do the same with the Rod when Mokuba finally broke from Rishid, rushing to his brother's side. "Big-Brother!"

Kaiba turned and caught him, arms wrapping around the boy. He was either unaware in that moment or unconcerned that others were witnessing this rare display of affection as he held his little brother close, face burying into the boy's thick, black hair. Then, Kaiba pushed him back enough to catch his eye. "Mokuba . . . " His voice seemed to fail him.

Mokuba sniffed, tears in his eyes, but he nodded, his voice soft but steady. "I know, Big-Brother."

Rishid came over, crouching down on a knee next to the two. "Kaiba Seto, as the . . . the eldest son – " He paused, glancing over his shoulder, then continued at an encouraging nod from Malik. "As the eldest son of the Ishtahl clan, I assure you that your little brother will be in safe hands. We will care for him as one of our own until your return."

Malik snorted softly. "No, Rishid . . . _better_ than that," he added with a wry grin.

Kaiba looked between the two of them, then nodded. "I will hold you to that." He pushed to his feet, and Mokuba reluctantly allowed Rishid to lead him back to Malik and Ishizu.

Ishizu laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Kaiba Mokuba, if you are anything like your brother, you have a power of your own as well. Perhaps you will lend us that power, help us with our part on this side of the Door to support your brother and the others."

"You can perform some of the rituals with us if you want," Malik added with a nod.

"Me? Power?" Mokuba looked back and forth between them in disbelief, then grinned. "You bet I will! Anything for Big-Brother and the others." He turned to stand with the Ishtahls. Kaiba's eyes narrowed slightly, but then he seemed to reconsider – or perhaps recall something – and merely nod, saying nothing.

Yugi was the last to set his Item in the Stone. He pulled the chain over his head and held the Puzzle cradled in both hands for a moment, gazing at it, before moving to place it in its spot, but then he hesitated. With an expression of concern creasing his brow, he glanced up at Atemu, then turned to Shadi. "Wait a minute. Other Me can only escape the confines of the Puzzle if I am in direct possession of it. If I set it down, let it go . . . won't that pull him back inside?"

Atemu had been wondering the same thing, and now everyone was turning to Shadi with questioning frowns.

Shadi shook his head. "The power of the Millennium Stone will sustain him, Mutou Yugi. Do not be afraid to set the Millennium Puzzle in its place."

Atemu watched Yugi place the Puzzle, then shift to watch Atemu in turn as he slowly sat back. Atemu felt something change in the pattern of his energy, but he remained standing in his spot at the center of the gathering on the upper dais. He and Yugi both breathed reflexive sighs of relief, then Yugi joined the group on the dais, readjusting the straps of his backpack nervously. Again, Atemu turned to Shadi. [_What's next?_]

"When you are ready, speak your name to the Door. Your true name, Pharaoh, is the final key to open that portal."

Before Atemu could do so, Mokuba spoke up with a shout. Bouncing under Rishid's hands once again on his shoulders, he waved at the group. "Good luck, guys! Beat that demon for all of us!"

Malik nodded. "Know that our whole clan is behind you."

[_Thank you,_] Atemu told them, his tone heartfelt. [_All of you._] He turned to his companions on the dais. [_Is everyone ready?_]

Honda chuckled ruefully. "Is anyone ever 'ready' for something like this? Seriously?"

Jonouchi punched his arm, assuring Atemu. "Don't listen to him. Of course, we're ready."

"Yep," Bakura chimed in.

"Go on, lad. We'll be fine."

Atemu met Sugoroku's eyes for a moment, then Anzu's, Kaiba's, and finally Yugi's.

Yugi grinned at him. "Let's do this, Other Me." He held up his fist.

Atemu chuckled along with Jonouchi and Honda, knowing that what Yugi offered was actually a gang-ish gesture he had learned from Jonouchi. He returned the grin, tapping the knuckles of his fist against Yugi's. [_Together._]

Anzu nodded in spite of her fear. "That's right. There's nothing the group of us can't face together. Right, guys?" She held out her hand, palm down.

"Yeah, together!" Honda and Jonouchi chorused, adding their hands.

"Yup!" Yugi put his in, completing the pinwheel formation.

Atemu imagined he could almost see the black-marker drawing across the backs of their hands. He reached in and laid his hand to align atop Yugi's. [_Everyone, let's do this,_] he said, bringing things full circle with the repetition of Yugi's words. He glanced up to include the remaining three. Sugoroku and Bakura had no idea what they were doing but could guess well enough the depth of the gesture's meaning to their friends and grandson. Kaiba was looking on with an unreadable expression on his face before he shifted his attention to the Door without a word.

The quintet broke up, and the group shifted to fan out a little behind and around Atemu, except for Yugi who remained at the spirit's side. Atemu met his eyes, his own full of appreciation for his partner's boundless strength and support. He set his right hand on his partner's shoulder, further acknowledging their solidarity, then raised his eyes and his left hand to the panel of rock before them.

[_ATEMU!_]

The word rang through the chamber with a power that stunned even him, and he watched with growing dread in spite of himself as light flashed across the Door, crackling gold energy filling every carving and crevice. The seam down the center broke open, the halves of the panels sliding apart at an alarming rate. Blinding golden light washed from the opening, swallowing their senses.

And all consciousness.

* * *

_To Be Continued in_ "Otherworld II: To the Winds"

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


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